‘Prolific sextortionist’ from Georgia who forced 150 teen girls to send perverse pics, videos handed 40 years
MABLETON, GEORGIA: A man who forced nearly 150 girls to send him sexually suggestive photographs and videos of them has been handed 40 years in jail. In addition, Benjamin Jenkins received a lifetime of supervision, the US Justice Department stated on Tuesday, September 23. He has also been ordered to register as a sex offender.
The sentencing of Jenkins, who was dubbed a "prolific sextortionist", came after he was found guilty of nine counts of producing child pornography and three counts of distributing child pornography in January. It has been said that the man targeted girls between the ages of 13 and 16 using different online pseudonyms beginning in 2015.
Through his different profiles and aliases, he used to persuade teenagers to send him their explicit snaps. He then used to blackmail them asking for more photos, saying if they did not follow him he would send their pictures to friends and relatives or share them on the internet, US Attorney Byung Pak said. Prosecutors also explained Jenkins would direct the girls as to which part of their bodies he wanted them to show, or how they could pleasure themselves sexually by using different objects. Not just that, he also pressurized many of his victims into sending him videos of them drinking their own urine or licking toilets.
According to reports, when one of his victims blocked him online, Jenkins sent their inappropriate snaps to their family and friends, demanding them to establish contact with him again. He also used to torture the girls by posting their nude pictures online and asking other men to contact them for sex. "Jenkins exploited as many as 150 girls for his perverse satisfaction, causing unbelievable trauma to these children and their families. The sheer degradation and depravity that Jenkins forced his victims to endure is unimaginable,” Pak said.
Acting Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer said: “These victims were trapped in a vicious cycle from which they could not escape. We will continue to go after these predators while educating our youth about the dangers of sextortion.”
In another incident, a Colorado doctor was sentenced to 23 years in prison after he was found guilty of production of child pornography. While sentencing Dr. Justin Neisler on Tuesday, September 22, a federal judge told him: “You put your hands on those kids.” During a March 2019 raid at his home, Neisler was found in possession of nearly 6,600 still images and 1,725 videos of child pornography. At the time, he also admitted that he took videos of his naked underage patients secretly during the medical examination using a spy pen camera and his iPhone. But claimed that they were only used by him for his own sexual gratification, he did not distribute or sell them to others.
“I intentionally and repeatedly violated the sacred trust of my patients and their families. I desecrated my oath to do no harm,” Neisler with eyes full of tears said before the court. But he was called a “predator and pedophile not someone who made a mistake” by the prosecutors.