Man in US acted as ‘hunter’ for an online predator network; now, he faces decades in prison

The target of the FBI investigation made a stunning admission: He conspired with others in an elaborate scheme, using Chateen, to trick or force young girls into sex acts on web cams and extort them. And he knew other groups who ran similar, coordinated scams. — Image by pvproductions on Freepik

CLEVELAND: The group of men from across the country gathered on Skype to coordinate for a sinister goal: to trick girls as young as 11 to undress and perform sex acts in front of a web camera, authorities say.

The group’s members secretly recorded the girls and then ruthlessly blackmailed them, forcing the youths to continue the performances under the threat of releasing the video to family, friends and anyone with access to the Internet, according to court documents.