A Buffalo man is accused of preying on children on social media.
Sherrod Ogletree, 20, is charged with production of child pornography. If he’s found guilty, he’ll face a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison.
Referencing a case from earlier in the week, U.S. Attorney William Hochul says parents need to protect their children.
“For the second time in three days, social media was the avenue by which a defendant gained access to a child, with serious consequences ensuing thereafter," said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “Just as parents go to great lengths to protect their children from street criminals and predators, the public needs to be particularly vigilant to the dangers lurking online.”
Last August, the minor victim told Buffalo Police she was being “sextorted” by a Facebook account with the name “Mrss Guwop.” The page apparently told her to contact “her manager” and to pay $20, give Samsung Galaxy electronic Tablet and have sex with “Mrss Guwop’s” manager.
When the victim refused, the page threatened to post screenshots of conversations where the victim agreed to work as a prostitute.
Officers had the victim contact “the manager” and agree to meet him at a home on Woodlawn Avenue. That’s where Ogletree was taken into custody.
Authorities investigated and found a second victim, who told the “Mrss Guwop” page several times she was a minor. But prosecutors say the page solicited sexual images from the victim.
