A federal jury has convicted a Cobb County man who convinced young girls to send him sexually explicit photos and video, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said Friday.
Benjamin Jenkins — also known as Rei, Reithe8th and Dani Domo — was convicted of nine counts of producing child pornography and three counts of distributing child pornography, U.S. Attorney BJay Pak said in a news release.
“Jenkins is a predator who used various social media sites to lure and coerce young girls into sending him child pornography,” Pak said. “He terrorized his young victims by threatening to post their photographs online if they did not comply, and he frequently made good on these threats. A jury has now held Jenkins accountable for his horrific crimes, and he faces a lengthy prison sentence.”
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Jenkins, 25, began targeting girls between the ages of 13 and 16 in 2015, according to prosecutors. He used different online aliases and profiles to trick the girls into sending him photos, Pak’s office said.
After Jenkins got the photos, he threatened to post the pictures online or send them to the girl’s family and friends if they didn’t send more images, according to investigators. Jenkins told the girls what body parts to show, what poses to make and to insert objects into their bodies. He also humiliated victims by forcing them to send videos of themselves drinking urine or licking toilets, prosecutors said.
When a girl blocked Jenkins online, he sent her photos to her parents and demanded the girl continue communicating with him, Pak’s office said. Jenkins also posted nude photos of the girls and their contact information online, along with messages instructing men on how to contact the girls for photos or for sex.
Nine of Jenkins’ victims testified against him, Pak said.
“Sextortion is a growing threat that traps our youth in a horrific situation they aren’t able to get out of. The removal of Jenkins from our community makes us all safer,” acting Homeland Security Special Agent in Charge Robert Hammer said in an emailed statement. “With studies showing that over half of children over 11 years old have a cellphone, I urge parents to educate themselves and their kids about the dangers that exist on their phones. Parents need to know and monitor their children’s social media usage and ensure their children are only ‘friending’ people they personally know.”
Sentencing for Jenkins is scheduled for April.
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