OAK BROOK, Ill. (WBBM NEWSRADIO) -- A man has been convicted for persuading or attempting to persuade more than a dozen underage girls to send him sexually explicit images of themselves, according to the U.S. Attorney's office.
Thomas Vivirito, 27 of Oak Brook admitted in a plea agreement that in 2018 and 2019 he used Instagram, Snapchat, and text messages to persuade or attempt to persuade the girls to send him sexually explicit videos or photos.
Some of the girls were as young as 12 years old. Vivirito has been sentenced to 18 years in federal prison.
“Victim by victim, and message by message, defendant groomed and attempted to groom over a dozen young girls over social media,” Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ashley A. Chung and Christine M. O’Neill stated in the government’s sentencing memorandum.
“With each new victim, each sexual message, and each explicit image received or downloaded, defendant robbed young girls of their childhood and wreaked trauma in their lives.”
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