INDIANAPOLIS — Federal authorities say a western Indiana man has confessed to coercing scores of teenage boys into recording sexually explicit videos after he threatened to expose them on pornographic websites.
U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett said the arrest of 39-year-old Richard Leon Finkbiner of Brazil, Ind., may be the largest case of online sexual extortion of minors in the U.S.
Finkbiner was arrested Friday after federal and state investigators executed a search warrant at his home, which also houses an Internet services company called manta.com.
Hogsett said investigators found thousands of sexually explicit video clips of teenage boys who’d allegedly been forced into performing sex acts that Finkbiner captured on his computer web camera. Some of the videos were allegedly transmitted using the popular video chat site, Skype. Finkiner told investigators that his victims numbered at least 100 or more.
The way Finkbiner enticed the teens into recording the sex acts is the stuff of parental nightmares, Hogsett said.
Finkbiner allegedly had secretly captured sexually explicit images that the teenagers themselves had sent out over what they thought were private Internet video chat sites.
According to the criminal complaint filed against him, he was able to track down those teens using information on social media sites like Facebook, and then contacted them, threatening to make them into “gay porn stars” if they didn’t comply with his demands.
“I can’t sleep at night thinking about this case,” Hogsett said.
On Monday morning at a press conference, Hogsett released a photograph of Finkbiner and asked the media to get information out about the case in hopes that more victims would come forward.
Hogsett asked anyone who had contact with Finkbiner to call the FBI’s Cybersquard Division in Indianapolis at 1 (877) 542-8979.
The criminal complaint filed against Finkbiner is graphic in detail. It describes the actions he allegedly took to coerce two 14-year-old boys, one in Michigan and the other in Maryland, to record themselves engaged in explicit sexual activities using the web cameras on their computers.
The complaint also contains the pleas of one of Finkbiner’s alleged victims, begging the Brazil, Ind., man to stop. Finkbiner’s response, according to the complaint: “I wont get caught im a hacker I covered my tracks.”
Eventually, both boys confessed to family members what was happening, and those family members contacted police.
Finkbiner was arrested on charges involving the Michigan and Maryland teens, though Hogsett said he anticipates more charges to come as more victims are identified.
Hogsett used the word “sextortion” to describe Finkbiner’s crime. He said the Internet has allowed sextortion cases to flourish as predators capture embarrassing images online, then threaten to expose their victims unless they agree to make more even more sexually explicit photos or videos.
“Unfortunately, the Internet has its dark side,” Hogsett said.
Finkbiner is being housed in the Vigo County jail. His first court appearance is scheduled for Wednesday. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on the current charges of sexual exploitation of children.
Maureen Hayden can be reached at maureen.hayden@indianamediagroup.com
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In this Sunday, April 8, 2012, photo, FBI Special Agent in Charge Bob Holley, from left, United States Attorney Joe Hogsett and Assistant United States Attorney Brant Cook speak during an availability in Indianapolis to announce the Friday arrest of Richard Leon Finkbiner, of Brazil, Ind. Federal prosecutors say Finkbiner may have coerced teenage boys across the country into sexual activity that he recorded online. Court documents say that FBI investigators found sexually explicit videos showing hundreds of teenagers on Finkbiner's computer. Hogsett holds up an image of Finkbiner's booking photo.
Federal authorities fear ‘sextortion’ case involves many teens in Indiana
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