Washington Man Sentenced to 55 Years for Child Exploitation
A 30-year-old man from Shoreline, Washington was sentenced to 55 years in prison for his role in an international child pornography ring.
The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney Matthew Schneider, who was joined by Special Agent in Charge Timothy Slater of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Detroit Division.
‘The way that these offenders worked together to manipulate innocent girls for their own sexual gratification is truly horrific. And, the way that this defendant in particular extorted these children is especially heinous,’ said United States Attorney Schneider.
The defendant, Michael Berenson, was ordered to pay $80,000 in restitution to the identified victims, with each victim to receive $5,000.
Berenson was one of a group of individuals who worked together to entice minor females to produce child pornography via web camera on an unmonitored chatroom-based website. The men recruited the victims from common social media platforms by pretending to be teenage boys interested in chatting with the girls in real time.
Berenson participated in this group from its inception in 2012 until the group ceased activity. He remained active, targeting minors, directing them to engage in sexual acts, recording such acts and blackmailing the minors until the execution of a search warrant at his residence on May 10, 2017.
Berenson admitted to victimizing over 1,000 minor girls over the course of the last 10 years. To date, a forensic examination of his devices recovered over 9,600 videos and images of child pornography and 105,347 child exploitive videos and images.
Key Facts
- State: Michigan
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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