District resident Christopher Young, 31, was sentenced to 26 years in prison after pleading guilty to sexual exploitation of a minor and child sexual abuse for terrorizing a 10-year-old girl in 2019.
Prosecutors said that in June 2019, Young used a messaging app to approach a 10-year-old girl, posing as a child himself.
In the messages he exchanged with his minor victim, Young blackmailed her for the purpose of sexually abusing her, they continued.
While pretending to be a young girl, officials said that he messaged the victim, stating that if she did not engage in sexual acts with him, he would share embarrassing photos of her with her family.
Young also photographed his sexual abuse of the victim, one of which was recovered from his email account during the investigation into his sexual abuse.
The victim eventually reported the abuse to her mother and Young was arrested on July 23, 2019. He has been in custody since.
Young pleaded guilty to the charges on Aug. 23, 2022 in the US District Court for the District of Columbia. In addition to the prison term, the judge ordered he serve 15 years of supervised release and Young will have to register as a sex offender.
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