An Australian man who authorities say “masquerad[ed]” as a popular YouTube star was arrested and charged with exploiting 245 children in the United States.
The identity of the 25-year-old suspect has not been released, although he was identified by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement on Monday as an Australian citizen and was arrested in the western part of the Pacific nation.
Special agents with the Homeland Security Investigations, an arm of ICE, in Tallahassee, Florida, first received a tip about the Australian man from the Leon County Sheriff’s Office. According to an ICE news release, the agents discovered that the 25-year-old was posing as the YouTube star in order to “befriend minor females and gain their trust.”
“He then blackmailed the minor victims and instructed them to film themselves doing various sexually explicit acts, many of which involved physical contact with other minors and/or animals,” ICE said.
Homeland Security Investigations then reached out to the Australian Federal Police, which began the effort to capture the man, dubbed Operation ESK. By October of last year, authorities said they had identified 112 U.S. victims of the faux YouTuber, and as the investigation stretched into January, authorities identified an additional 134 children.
“Child exploitation is a heinous crime that is happening far too often on social media sites used by our children,” said HSI Regional Attaché for Oceania, Adam Parks. “These investigations will continue to be our top priority to ensure that children around the world are protected from sexual predators.”
“Thanks to our close partnership with the Australian Federal Police and Western Australia Police, we were able to identify this predator and protect future children from falling victim to this monster,” Parks added.