Georgia ‘sextortionist’ gets 40 years in prison for exploiting 150 teen victims
A Georgia man described as a “prolific sextortionist” was jailed for 40 years for coercing up to 150 girls to send him sexually explicit photos and videos.
Benjamin Jenkins threatened the teenagers that he would post the pictures online or send them to their families if they did not comply with his demands.
Jenkins, 25, was convicted of 12 counts of producing child pornography and distributing child pornography in a case dating back to 2015.
Federal prosecutors say that Jenkins used online aliases and profiles to contact the girls, who were aged between 13 and 16, and persuaded them to send him a graphic photo.
US Attorney for the North District of Georgia Byung Pak said that once Jenkins had a picture he would threaten his victims until they sent him more material.
Jenkins, of Mableton, Georgia, even ordered his victims to send him footage of themselves licking toilets or drinking their own urine.
And if a girl did not respond quickly enough he would start a “countdown clock” before posting other images online.
Authorities say that when one victim blocked him online, Jenkins sent the pictures to her parents and friends and demanded she continue contacting him.
A court heard that Jenkins, who was convicted in January but only sentenced this week, also posted pictures of victims for 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,” said Mr Pak.
“The sheer degradation and depravity that Jenkins forced his victims to endure is unimaginable.
“This sentence will hopefully help these courageous victims and their families heal.”
Prosecutors say that Jenkins will also spend the rest of his life on supervised release and must register as a sex offender.
