'Either comply with his demands or commit suicide': U.S. man sentenced for exploiting B.C. kids
A 37-year-old Oregon man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for using social media to stalk three British Columbia children, eventually coercing them to produce and share sexually explicit images with him.
The United States District Attorney's Office in Oregon says Kevin Robert McCarty, of Happy Valley, Ore., used the online alias "Robbie MacKenzie" on Snapchat and Instagram to convince the children to create and send explicit pictures and videos of themselves.
Agents with the United States Department of Homeland Security began investigating McCarty in September 2021 and found his crimes dated back to July 2020.
"Once the children sent McCarty photos or videos, he demanded more," the attorney's office said in a statement.
"If the children refused, McCarty threatened to send the photos and videos he had already obtained to the minor victims' friends and families, which he did on several occasions. On at least two occasions, McCarty told his victims they could either comply with his demands or commit suicide."
The Comox Valley RCMP say they were alerted to a local youth being sexually exploited as early as May 2021, and as their investigation progressed, they received similar reports from Mounties in Surrey and the West Shore of Vancouver Island.
McCarty was charged on Nov. 16, 2021, with sexually exploiting children, distributing child pornography, cyberstalking, enticing a child online, and transferring obscene material to a minor.
Two days later, Homeland Security agents searched the home he shared with his mother, sister and sister's family, according to the U.S. attorney's office. McCarty was arrested while visiting a cousin in California the same day.
The Oregon man pleaded guilty to one count of enticing a minor online and two counts of sexually exploiting children on Feb. 15 of this year, and was sentenced to prison on Oct. 13.
"Online exploitation poses a grave threat to the well-being of our youth, and this case highlights the importance of cross-border co-operation in combating these crimes," Comox Valley RCMP Insp. Mike Kurvers said in a statement Thursday.
"We commend the dedication and collaboration of our investigative unit and counterparts in Canada and the United States in ensuring that justice is served."
Sgt. Dave Knight of the Surrey RCMP's internet child exploitation unit says the conviction and 20-year sentence proves that online predators cannot find anonymity by committing their crimes across international borders.
"Our investigators recognize the value in building strong working relationships with international partner agencies," Knight said. "This enables us to successfully target offenders as we work towards the common goal of keeping our children safe from online exploitation."
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Freeland leaves capital gains tax change out of coming budget implementation bill, here's why
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland will be tabling yet another omnibus bill to pass a sweeping range of measures promised in her April 16 federal budget, though left out of the legislation will be the government's proposed capital gains tax change.
Ontario woman surprised after 20-year-old fines suddenly tank credit score
An Ontario woman says that she was shocked when provincial fines from 20 years ago suddenly tanked her credit score last week, but the situation may not be as unusual as it seems, according to at least one debt expert.
Anger can harm your blood vessel function, study shows
Stress and anger can have a negative impact on cardiovascular health, studies have shown. New research points to just how the mechanism may work.
Avalanche eliminate Winnipeg Jets from playoffs with 6-3 road win
Mikko Rantanen's first two goals of the playoffs propelled the Colorado Avalanche to a 6-3 victory over the Winnipeg Jets on Tuesday that clinched their opening-round playoff series in five games.
WATCH Arnold Schwarzenegger spotted filming in Elora, Ont.
The name of the project has not been officially released although it’s widely believed to be the Netflix series FUBAR.
Protesters clash at UCLA after police clear pro-Palestinian demonstrators from Columbia University
Dueling groups of protesters clashed Wednesday at the University of California, Los Angeles, grappling in fistfights and shoving, kicking and using sticks to beat one another. Hours earlier, police carrying riot shields burst into a building at Columbia University that pro-Palestinian protesters took over and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school while inspiring others.
A 98-year-old in Ukraine walked miles to safety from Russians, with slippers and a cane
A 98-year-old woman in Ukraine who escaped Russian-occupied territory by walking almost 10 kilometres (six miles) alone, wearing a pair of slippers and supported by a cane has been reunited with her family days after they were separated while fleeing to safety.
Will an 'out of sight, out of mind' cellphone policy make a difference in Ontario schools?
Ontario’s cellphone ban in schools has been met with mixed reaction, with some teachers concerned about constant policing of kids and experts applauding the change as necessary for student learning.
Poilievre kicked out of Commons after calling Prime Minister Justin Trudeau 'wacko'
Testy exchanges between the prime minister and his chief opponent ended with the Opposition leader and one of his MPs being ejected from the House of Commons on Tuesday -- and the rest of Conservative caucus walking out of the chamber in protest.