Mitchell James Ottinger, Sextortion, Minnesota 2021

A 25-year-old substitute teacher from Carver, Minnesota, has been arrested and charged with production of child pornography related to sextortion and threats of extortion.

Mitchell James Ottinger, 25, was arrested yesterday on criminal charges for alleged production of child pornography. A detention and preliminary hearing has been scheduled for May 7, 2021, at 2:00 pm before Magistrate Judge Elizabeth Cowan Wright.

According to court documents, Ottinger created and used multiple Internet accounts to encourage and direct minors and an adult to create sexually explicit images and videos of themselves to send to Ottinger. Ottinger posed as a young female using aliases including 'Taylor Malek' or 'Rachel Meyer,' in order to obtain the images and videos.

Law enforcement was alerted to the sextortion when one of the victims contacted the FBI's National Threat Operations Center and reported the threats. Based on the evidence obtained in this investigation, authorities believe there may be additional victims of the alleged conduct. Anyone with information about this matter is encouraged to call the FBI Minneapolis Division at 763-569-8000.

Ottinger is charged with two counts of production and attempted production of child pornography and two counts of making extortionate threats. If convicted, Ottinger faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI is investigating the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda Dugi is prosecuting the case. A criminal complaint is merely an allegation and the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.

Mitchell James Ottinger, Defendant's Real Full Name, Charged with:

Production and attempted production of child pornography

Making extortionate threats

City and State: Carver, Minnesota

Arrest Date: Not specified but mentioned as 'yesterday'

Sentence or Outcome: Mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison, if convicted

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-mn/pr/substitute-teacher-charged-sextortion-case