⏱ 2 min read
A 29-year-old Colorado graduate student, Chandan Bhangale, was indicted for allegedly using social media and online messaging platforms to groom and extort minors in the Fox Valley region of Eastern Wisconsin.
According to court records, Bhangale, a computer science graduate student at Colorado State University, targeted minors on popular social media and online messaging platforms to collect personal information, induce them to produce child sexual abuse material, and then use blackmail to coerce their compliance.
The victims were allegedly convinced that if they didn’t comply, there would be serious consequences, including public disclosure of explicit videos, death, or serious bodily harm to themselves or family members.
Bhangale is accused of coercing the victims into self-harm, cutting their own hair, and producing and transmitting child sexual abuse material.
If convicted, Bhangale faces up to 30 years in federal prison for each count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor and up to 5 years for cyberstalking.
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📋 Key Facts
- Crime: Sex Crimes
- Defendant: Cybercrime
- Location: WI
- Source: DOJ Press Release
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