He was charged with five counts off extortion, 14 counts of making child pornography, you to definitely number of acquiring guy pornography, and another matter from having son porn. 129 He pleaded guilty to 14 matters of earning man pornography features become sentenced so you’re able to 105 decades within the federal prison. 130

Ivory Dickerson and you will Patrick Connolly

Ivory Dickerson and Patrick Connolly never ever satisfied directly, but they functioned together once the a kind of sextortion group: with her, the FBI claims, they targeted more 3,800 underage girls. 131 Dickerson—a municipal professional within the New york—and you will Connolly—an uk army builder performing within a You.S. ft inside the Baghdad—has worked in conjunction, 132 with Connolly constantly calling potential victims along the websites to secret them into the installing the virus Bifrost. 133 Then your two manage come together inside blackmailing the victims which have pictures taken surreptitiously the help of its adult cams or that have private information gotten by the hosts. 134 They grabbed couple of years out-of studies to track them down. 135

In one single case, Connolly endangered to create a woman’s current email address on the internet and to damage the girl young aunt unless of course she considering pictures. 136 In another, he told a target that he would make the lady “the absolute most well-recognized lady at school” unless she given him having photographs. “Are you currently yes we should drive to college the next day?” he questioned, stating which he noticed the lady at school each and every day. 137

The latest FBI initially called Dickerson convinced that he might become one off Connolly’s sufferers; they guessed one to Connolly may have achieved power over Dickerson’s pc and you can tried it to help you assault most other servers because a good way of concealing their songs. 138 Soon, although not, they noticed that Dickerson themselves has also been about the fresh symptoms, learning proof hacking and you will films out-of visual, self-delivered boy porn toward his computer. 139 Dickerson as well as made use of a course who does make it your to help you look the web to own vulnerable webcams he would be able to cheat. 140

Dickerson told the latest FBI which he while he got never met Connolly myself, he’d sensible off his name: while the Dickerson’s co-conspirator, Connolly labeled themselves while the “Lauren,” and you may carry out often posting Dickerson images regarding Connolly and you will facts about Connolly’s life. 141

Dickerson try sentenced so you’re able to 110 age within the prison just after pleading guilty to all the charges: about three counts of making son pornography, you to definitely count off possessing child pornography, as well as 2 counts out of computer ripoff. 142 Connolly try charged with five counts generating guy pornography, half a dozen counts of extortion, and one number away from computers ripoff. 143 The guy pleaded guilty to a single matter of making boy porn, 144 and you can was sentenced to help you 30 years in prison—although the sentencing judge stated, “Easily could phrase you to definitely lives, I would personally.” 145

Michael C. Ford

Investigators initially discover Michael C. Ford when searching towards the an anonymous sextortionist whom it noticed you will use a state Service Ip in order to hidden their term. 146 Since it occurred, the newest Internet protocol address was not a good ruse: the analysis sooner tracked the brand new sextortion to Ford, a worker at U.S. Embassy inside London. 147 Ford called their victims from his cubicle, storage involved spreadsheets off their subjects’ emails and you can passwords towards the his performs pc. 148 Their sextortion began the season he was leased during the Embassy; he was busy sextorting at work to possess half a dozen years without somebody within Embassy noticing before he was in the long run detained. 149

Ford relied on good phishing scheme to get their sufferers’ passwords and you will inexpensive explicit photo off their profile, together with personal information including the victims’ contact and cell phone numbers. He delivered thousands of letters posing given that a person in Yahoo’s “Account Removal Group,” notifying subjects https://besthookupwebsites.org/chatstep-review/ one to their Yahoo accounts were set to end up being removed and requesting its passwords to avoid the brand new purging off the account. 150 (Ford conserved drafts of these phishing emails into his Embassy desktop.) 151 He mainly targeted ladies whom belonged to college sororities otherwise aspired are habits, 152 in the event in one case he sextorted an early on kid having a female buddy’s passwords. 153 The person refused to publish together a great deal more photo as the, in his terms, “I’meters 16 in those photos [you to definitely Ford had already received] just in case your post/distribute boy pornography, you’re also attending have a bad time.” Ford replied, “Might you thought I care?” 154

Immediately following he obtained a target’s passwords and you will accessed this lady membership, he’d threaten to produce this lady photographs to help you relatives or publish the fresh images on line except if the target considering him which have films of women’s altering rooms. 155 Both, he would threaten and make societal the fresh prey’s contact information and you will target too. 156 In many times the guy generated a great into their threats, in the some point chatting with a victim’s mom a picture of her with a note studying, “Check out the litttle lady.” 157 The their sufferers began to worry for their physical safety: you to lady slept which have a blade not as much as the lady pillow, when you find yourself other considered obtaining a tool to guard herself. 158