In a bizarre scheme to threaten more than a 100 young girls into sending him pornographic pictures of themselves, an Atlanta man is accused of sharing illicit photos of the girls with their parents, friends and, in one case, posting an image on a high school Twitter page.

Benjamin Jenkins of Mableton, Georgia, is alleged to have used social media to contact girls between the ages of 12 and 16 years old, according to a federal indictment unsealed Friday. The 23-year old would send the girls a pornographic photo and persuade them to send him a sexually explicit photo of themselves in return, according to court documents.

Once the girl sent him a photo, Mr. Jenkins would use it to pressure them into sending more photos and videos, a practice known as “sextortion,” prosecutors alleged. When a girl blocked Mr. Jenkins, he would send the explicit photos of them to their parents and friends. He also posted the photos along with the girl’s contact information so other men could ask for more photos, according to the indictment.

Mr. Jenkins is alleged to have instructed the girls on what body part to show, what poses to make and what objects to insert into their bodies, the indictment said. He also made forced them to humiliate themselves in the videos by drinking their own urine or licking a toilet, according to court documents.

Prosecutors have charged Mr. Jenkins with 13 counts of producing child pornography and five counts of distributing child pornography. In total, Mr. Jenkins extorted more than 100 girls.

“Jenkins allegedly used various social media sites to lure young girls into sending him child pornography,” U.S. Attorney Byung J. Pak said in a statement announcing the charges. “He is accused of acting as a predator who terrorized his young victims by threatening to post their photographs online, unless they sent him more sexually explicit videos and pictures. Parents and children should continually be aware of the masked dangers predators pose on social media.”

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Division is probing the case.

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