A 19-year-old man was charged on August 21st with more than 150 counts after he was accused of extorting young girls into sending him naked photos, the Los Angeles County District Attorney’s Office announced.
Cesar Mauricio Estrada-Davila (dob 3/22/96) of Rosemead has been charged with 109 felony and 42 misdemeanor counts in case MA066758: 21 counts of possession of child or youth pornography; 21 counts of obscene matter; 21 counts of activity involving material depicting sexual conduct; 21 counts of distributing or showing child or youth pornography to a minor; 21 counts of contact with a minor for sexual offense; 21 counts of disorderly conduct by distributing a private intimate image of a minor causing emotional distress; 21 counts of extortion; and four counts of lewd act upon a child.
The felony complaint includes a special allegation that there were multiple victims.
Deputy District Attorney Jon Hatami, who is assigned to the case, said between January and April of this year, Estrada reportedly reached out to young girls and befriended them on a social networking website.
The defendant allegedly told the girls he was a modeling agent who could make them famous online. Estrada then asked the girls to send him pictures in their underwear, the prosecutor said.
After Estrada reportedly received the images, he would tell the victims he was going to send the photos to their friends and family if they did not send nude pictures, the prosecutor said.
One of the victims finally revealed to her parents what was occurring and then they contacted law enforcement.
Authorities conducted an investigation into Estrada’s activities for several months before he was charged this month.
The prosecutor said there are 21 female victims between the ages of 12 and 17 years old.
If convicted as charged, Estrada faces several life sentences in state prison.
The case is being investigated by the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department Special Victims Bureau.
SOURCE: Los Angeles District Attorney’s Office