GRAND RAPIDS (WWJ) – A Florida man is facing federal charges for allegedly coercing a teenaged girl from Mid-Michigan into sending him explicit images and officials believe there may be more victims.
Brandon Le, 21, was indicted Wednesday in the sextortion case on charges of coercion and enticement of a minor, sexual exploitation of a minor, and receipt of child pornography.
Sextortion involves threats against a victim—including threats to publish or distribute private and sensitive information about someone—if the victim does not provide the perpetrator with sexually explicit images or videos, sexual favors, or money.
Federal authorities say in August 2019 Le used Snapchat to contact the girl living in Clinton County, just north of Lansing. He allegedly “steered the Snapchat conversation to sexual topics” and took a screenshot of the sexual portion of the conversation.
Officials say Le then threatened to publicly post that conversation online with the victim’s name if she didn’t provide him with sexually explicit photos and material.
Based on the FBI's investigation, U.S. Attorney Mark Totten's office believes Le "may have contacted a significant number of other people across the nation... attempting to do the same things."
Totten’s office believes Le used the name “Ty” and the following usernames on various social media, messaging, and e-mail accounts:
addityyt
tyaddinude
tyaddibaby
tycroneaddi
tygrazittenudef
If you believe that you are a victim in this case, authorities have set up a webpage with a questionnaire for potential victims of Le. Potential victims can also contact Kathy Schuette, Victim Coordinator, at (616) 808-2034 or kathy.schuette@usdoj.gov.
Totten said in a press conference Wednesday authorities have contacted some potential victims and they are in the process of identifying others.
“But we’re also asking the public for help,” he said.
“These charges represent serious allegations, and we are moving with all diligence to make our case and protect the public,” Totten said in a press release. “Sextortion is on the rise and represents a real and present danger to every child, teenager, and user of social media. We will use every power at our disposal to protect our most vulnerable community members from this emerging threat.”
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