Wichita Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation
A Wichita, Kansas man pleaded guilty to production of child pornography for his role in a group that coerced minors to engage in explicit conduct online.
Allan Cortez, 34, pleaded guilty on April 4, 2016, in the Eastern District of Virginia. Sentencing for Cortez is set for July 21, 2017.
Cortez admitted to creating a false profile on a social networking site popular with children to lure them to two websites he controlled. He showed the children pre-recorded videos of prior minor victims engaging in explicit conduct to convince them that they were chatting live with another minor.
Cortez further admitted to using these videos to coerce and entice the children to engage in explicit activity on their own web cameras, which could be viewed live by multiple adult members without the victim’s knowledge.
The group, which included 10 other members, ranked the efforts of members to successfully lure children to the website and to coerce and entice them to engage in explicit conduct on live web camera.
Law enforcement agencies have disabled both websites. Cortez and another group member, Edward Parson, 46, were charged on April 4, 2016, and pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge T.S. Ellis III of the Eastern District of Virginia.
Parson pleaded guilty on the same day as Cortez and is set to be sentenced on July 14, 2017.
According to Acting Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Blanco, the members of the group ‘sexually exploited hundreds of children around the nation and globe through deceit and trickery.’
Key Facts
- State: Kansas
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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