ALEXANDRIA, Va. (WUSA9) — A Virginia man was one of seven people indicted for allegedly operating websites designed to lure in children into engaging in sexual activity online.
The defendants from locations ranging from South Africa to Tennessee were indict on charges of conspiracy to produce child pornography and conspiracy to distribute child pornography, according to officials.
The defendants targeted children between ages eight and 14, according to the the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
The defendants allegedly created false profiles on sites like YouTube and Chateen, according to the indictment.
Once the children were engaged in conversation via these social sites, the defendants would direct them to one of two the websites run by the conspiracy, the indictment stated.
When the children were on their website, the defendants would pretend to be young teenagers and would allegedly get the children to engage in sexual activity via webcam. The defendents would record the children during these acts and distributed the recordings.
Both websites used in the case have been disabled by law enforcement agencies.
The defendants face a mandatory sentence of 15 years in custody and up to a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison if convicted
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