The Orange County Criminal Lawyer Blog
A 24 year old man named Bryan Asrary was arrested in Revere, Massachusetts, on December 18th after allegedly soliciting nude photos from a Los Angeles County minor.
Los Angeles Sheriff’s detectives from the human trafficking bureau started an investigation after being told that an 11 year old girl had been extorted for sexually explicit pictures.
The girl told detectives that this started two years before, when she was 9. She was viewing the Instagram page of Bieber when she received a direct message from another Instagram user who said he knew Bieber and could arrange a text meeting with the victim.
The victim, who was excited about the proposition, accepted the offer and was directed to make an account on the social media site, Kik. The girl then communicated with someone on Kik who she thought was Justin Bieber. Asrary, who was posing as Bieber, began demanding nude photos of the girl; threatening harm if she did not cooperate.
She complied and sent nude selfies and videos. After sending the pictures the girl deleted the texts between herself and the suspect and kept it a secret.
Asrary contacted the girl twice in 2016 and threatened to publish the photos and videos if she did not send more. The victim finally told her mother about what was going on, and the mother contacted the authorities.
Authorities served several search warrants for information from social media sites and were able to identify the suspect as Asrary, according to the department. Asrary was arrested by state troopers in Massachusetts, on suspicion of possessing child pornography. Asrary allegedly admitted in an interview with authorities to exploiting the victim and also implicated himself in other similar crimes against other young girls throughout the country.
He faces local charges in Massachusetts and multiple charges in California, including: extortion, manufacturing child pornography, and communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sex act. His bail was set at $20,000.
If you or someone you love is suspected of extortion, child pornography or similar charges call Orange County criminal defense lawyer Staycie R. Sena at (949) 477-8088 for a consultation now.