Buster Hernandez, a 26-year-old man from Bakersfield, California, has been charged with making cyber threats to young women in Indiana and other states, in a case that highlights the growing problem of sextortion and online harassment.
According to court documents, Hernandez, who also used the aliases ‘Brian Kil’ and ‘Purge of Maine,’ allegedly extorted and made death threats to minor victims in at least 10 states, including Maine and Indiana. The victims were reportedly contacted through social media platforms, including Facebook.
The investigation began in December 2015, when the Brownsburg Police Department contacted the FBI about a cyber-threat case involving a minor female victim in Plainfield, Indiana. The victim, who was identified as ‘Victim 1,’ was allegedly contacted by Hernandez, who used the alias ‘Brian Kil,’ and threatened to harm her and her family if she did not send him explicit images.
Over the course of 16 months, Victim 1 sent Hernandez explicit images, which he allegedly used to blackmail her. When Victim 1 refused to send more images, Hernandez made physical threats, including stating ‘I am coming for you. I will slaughter your entire class and save you for last.’
Law enforcement officials say that Hernandez’s actions caused school administrators to close the Plainfield and Danville High Schools, and that he also made threats against law enforcement, stating ‘I will add a dozen dead police to my tally…Try me pigs, I will finish you off as well.’
Hernandez is facing charges of threats to use an explosive device, threats to injure, and sexual exploitation of a child. He had his initial appearance in the Eastern District of California on August 4, 2017, and is scheduled to appear before a magistrate judge in Indianapolis on August 30, 2017.
The investigation was jointly conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Indiana State Police, the Plainfield Police Department, and the Brownsburg Police Department.
Indiana State Police Superintendent Doug Carter said, ‘I have no doubt Buster Hernandez had forgotten all about Plainfield, Indiana and the terror he inflicted; but none of us here forgot.’ Carter concluded, ‘We said we’d keep looking until we found you, and we did.’
Key Facts
- State: Indiana
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
ðŸâ€Â’ Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
US NewsUS NewsUS NewsUS News