A judge sentenced a depraved pervert who blackmailed more than 40 kids to force them into creating child porn to 35 years in prison.
“This defendant’s victimization went beyond sexual exploitation. His ultimate goal was to instill fear and humiliation. This type of depraved criminal behavior will not be tolerated,” said U.S. Attorney Erica MacDonald.
Judge Wilhelmina M. Wright sentenced Dylan Matthew Deling (who also used the names Jason Keens and Dylan Nash) today in U.S. District Court in St. Paul, Minnesota.
Humiliating Scheme
Deling, 21, used multiple social media and chat platforms to target kids in a sextortion scam. Sextortion is defined as extorting sexually explicit images and videos from a victim by threatening to reveal a victim’s sexually explicit chats, images, or videos, or through threats of harm to the victim or the victim’s loved ones.
Between October 2017 and August 2018, Deling used social media and chat platforms to target kids. Among the platforms:
- Snapchat
- Kik
- Skype
- Text Messages
Officials said his more than 40 victims ranged in age from 11 to 17 years old. Deling used multiple names and accounts to target the girls.
Some of the girls he romanced into offering up images. He then threatened to share the images with their friends and families if they didn’t provide more pictures. Officials said, in some cases, he did share those images.
Deling also threatened to send henchmen to rape and kill the girls or their family members. He sent children screenshots of maps showing their homes and other information.
In one case he managed to get a friend of one of the girls to send the images.
Sentence Won’t Wipe Away Scars
“The sentence of this defendant demonstrates the FBI’s never-ending commitment to apprehending sexual offenders who prey on innocent children,” said FBI Special Agent Aubree M. Schwartz. “No sentence can wipe away the scars and irreparable harm those heinous actions leave on child victims. This should send a strong message to anyone considering exploiting our most vulnerable citizens.”
Deling was convicted of:
- Production of child pornography, 1 count
- Interstate communication with intent to extort, 1 count
Sentence:
- 420 months in prison
- 30 years of supervised release
