SYRACUSE, N.Y. — A New York man has reportedly pleaded guilty to numerous charges relating to the abuse of his 14-year-old daughter, and the man posed as a teenage boy to solicit pornographic photos from the girl before sexually abusing her.
Syracuse.com reports the man, whose name has been withheld to protect the privacy of his victim, started the ruse in 2013 by setting up various online accounts on Instagram, AOL and a texting service.
The man began chatting with his daughter while pretending to be a 16-year-old boy. The pair eventually began calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend, and after refusing several requests for nude photos the girl ultimately gave in and sent some explicit images.
Later, the girl tried to break up with her online “boyfriend” only to receive this message: “I tell u what u want to be gone then send me nudes and close ups and I will let u go.”
When the girl refused, the “boyfriend” then threatened to send the photos to her father. After the girl broke off the online relationship, the father posed as the fake teen boy’s mom and told his daughter the boy had committed suicide.
Then, after that, the man allegedly told the girl her boyfriend had sent him the nude photos, and he used those photos as leverage to sexually abuse the teen girl. About a year after the fake suicide, the victim reported the abuse to a school nurse.
Police investigated the incident and learned the text messages from the teen “boyfriend” had originated instead from the girl’s father.
Earlier this week, the man pleaded guilty to 12 counts of enticing a child to produce child pornography and sending and receiving child porn. In addition to those federal charges, the man faces sexual abuse charges in Herkimer County Court. He faces up to 250 years in prison when he is sentenced in July.
For local coverage and updates on this story, visit Syracuse.com.
