FBI seeks sextortion victims of man in prison for 105 years


1 photo
Save Story
Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

BOSTON (AP) — The FBI is hoping to locate 240 more victims of a man convicted of using online threats to extort pornographic images from teenage girls.

In November, Lucas Michael Chansler was sentenced to 105 years in prison after he pleaded guilty to nine counts of producing child pornography.

Prosecutors say Chansler, formerly of St. Johns, Florida, communicated with hundreds of teen girls in 26 states, three Canadian provinces and the United Kingdom. Authorities have identified 109 victims but believe there are about 240 more.

On Tuesday, the FBI asked for the public's help in identifying additional victims. The agency released a list of screen names he used, including CaptainObvious, sk8er4life2021 and VictorHugo.

Chansler, now 31, would target girls through social networking sites and pretend to be an acquaintance, friend or admirer, according to the FBI. Once he gained their trust, he would persuade the girls to expose themselves or engage in sexually explicit conduct on video chats he secretly recorded. He then threatened to put the images online or send them to the girls' parents unless they agreed to provide more graphic images.

The FBI identified Chansler after the parents of one of the girls came forward. He was indicted in 2010.

Chansler told authorities he targeted girls who ranged in age from 13 to 18 because adults were "too smart" to fall for his scheme.

Peter Kowenhoven, an assistant special agent in charge in the FBI's Boston office, said the victims were spread around the country, including four from Massachusetts.

"With the expansion of the Internet, online profiles, social media and the ability to anonymize somebody, sextortion has really escalated in the United States and around the world," Kowenhoven said. "Because the Internet is global and cuts across state lines, the victims can be found anywhere."

Because Chansler used many aliases online, many of the victims might not know he has been convicted and is in prison, Kowenhoven said. He said the FBI hopes to identify additional victims to raise awareness about the problem of sextortion.

Warning signs of unhealthy Internet contact
  • Child is on the phone excessively
  • Child withdraws from usual activities
  • Change in behavior

"Maybe they can help others to get the word out there to report it when you're a victim," he said.

"They're very afraid. They don't want to ruin their reputation. They don't want to embarrass their family and friends. By getting this out, we can try to help the victims."

Jessica Farnsworth is the commander of the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in Utah. She says although their office hasn't been contacted yet, she wouldn't be surprised if he had victims here.

"We get cases like these all the time," said Farnsworth. "It usually involves a child that is on the internet a lot or their cellphone."

She says there are warning signs to look out for.

"(Your child) will start to withdraw from the family or start to have behavioral issues and there will be a change in that child's behavior," Farnsworth said.

She advises parents to be extremely involved in their child's online activities, even know their passwords so their activity can be monitored.

"You child is always one step away of being taken advantage of no matter how good a parent you are," she said.

Chansler's lawyer, Alan Rosner, did not immediately return a call seeking comment.

Contributing: Ashley Kewish

Copyright © The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

Photos

Related links

Related stories

Most recent U.S. stories

Related topics

U.S.
DENISE LAVOIE

    STAY IN THE KNOW

    Get informative articles and interesting stories delivered to your inbox weekly. Subscribe to the KSL.com Trending 5.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast