A 19-year-old from Troutdale appeared in federal court Monday afternoon, accused of using Instagram to coerce girls to send him sexually-explicit images and videos of themselves.
The FBI arrested Anthony Lozowski after raiding his home with a search warrant Friday based on a tip from another agency.
He’s accused of sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child pornography, according to a federal complaint.
In some instances, Lozowski attempted to extort children to meet him for sex, threatening to send the sexually-explicit photos or videos of themselves he received to people they knew, FBI agent Landon Berryman wrote in the complaint. Berryman is part of a Portland Child Exploitation Task Force.
At least two victims told Lozowski that they were going to commit suicide if he did not stop extorting them, according to the complaint.
"Mr. Lozowski appears undeterred by this information,'' Berryman wrote in the complaint.
FBI agents interviewed Lozowski at his home.
According to the interview, he estimated having sexually-exploited approximately 100 girls and extorted three girls, Berryman wrote.
Lozowski made a brief appearance Monday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Portland. (MCSO)
The investigators also examined his two cell phones and found images of child pornography on them, according to the complaint.
The FBI said it has identified two victims and have connected them with victim support resources.
Assistant Federal Public Defender Francesca Freccero was appointed to represent Lozowski in court Monday afternoon. He’s due back in federal court in Portland on Nov. 5 to be arraigned on a potential indictment.
U.S. Magistrate Judge Jolie A. Russo ordered the 19-year-old detained as both a danger and a risk of flight.
Federal agents are working to try to identify other potential victims.
If a child discloses he or she is the victim of such a crime called "sextortion,'' the FBI encourages parents to report it by calling 1-800-CALL-FBI or leaving information online at https://tips.fbi.gov.
Sextortion, according to the FBI, begins when a predator reaches out to a young person over a game, app, or social media account. Through deception, manipulation, money and gifts, or threats, the predator convinces the young person to produce an explicit video or image. When the young person starts to resist requests to make more images, the offender will use threats of harm or exposure of the early images to pressure the child to continue producing the sexually-explicit material.
-- Maxine Bernstein
Email at mbernstein@oregonian.com
Follow on Twitter @maxoregonian
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