One of the dangers of teen sexting is that kids never know where their sexually explicit images could end up. We warn our children about talking to strangers on the internet. We warn our teens that the images they send to friends, boyfriends, and girlfriends could end up with a much broader reach. And now, one case shows just how disturbing these truths may be.
A 41-year-old man in New York set up a number of social media profiles purporting to be a 16-year-old boy. Through these profiles,he began to message a 14-year-old girl, establishing as the girl's online boyfriend. He began to send the young teen sexually explicit messages and to request nude photos from the girl.
She sent some images to the "boy," but then tried to end their online relationship, saying he was too persistent in pursuing sex: "That’s another reason I’m leaving. All you talk about is sex sex and more sex. Honestly that is not what a relationship is about.”
The man threatened to forward the pictures she had already sent him to her father if she did not send more, and told her that he would stop bothering her if she would just send him some more nude photos.
The scenario sounds like the typical "internet predator" situation, in which an adult tries to solicit sexual communication or sexually explicit images from a minor; however, this case has a disturbing twist. The man who created the fake profile was the 14-year-old girl's own father. He hatched an elaborate plan to trick his daughter into sending him pornographic images of herself.
Unfortunately for the girl, the abuse did not end when she ended the relationship with the fake boyfriend. Instead, the girl's father later told her that the boy had, in fact, sent him the images, and that he liked them. He then began sexually abusing the child, referring to the photos as he molested her.
The abuse ended when the girl reported it to a school nurse.
Earlier this month, the man pleaded guilty in federal court to 12 criminal counts including enticing a child to produce child pornography, sending child pornography, and receiving child pornography. He faces up to 250 years at sentencing.
