A Long Island man is accused in a child exploitation case that federal prosecutors say may have reached thousands of young girls online. Jordy Contreras, 21, is at the center of the investigation, which authorities describe as a wide-ranging scheme carried out over the internet rather than a single incident.
According to federal prosecutors, Contreras was paying a 12-year-old girl to send him explicit photos. The payments, prosecutors say, were made in Robux, the digital currency used inside the online game Roblox, turning the game's in-game money into the tool allegedly used to solicit the images.
Prosecutors say the alleged abuse did not stop with that one child. Contreras is accused of directing the 12-year-old to ask other girls to do the same, effectively using her to widen the pool of potential victims and draw more children into the scheme.
The scale described by investigators is staggering. That victim told police she encouraged thousands of girls between the ages of 6 and 13 to send nude photos for Contreras, according to prosecutors, pointing to a network of children far larger than a single victim.
The conduct was not brief, according to the case laid out by authorities. Prosecutors say the scheme allegedly went on for about a year, a span during which the exploitation is said to have continued and spread among the young girls involved.
Investigators moved on the case earlier this month, searching Contreras's home in Brentwood. There, they said they recovered 11 electronic devices that contained nude images of children, evidence that authorities say ties the material directly to the location where he lived.
Contreras, who is 21 years old, is now set to answer the accusations in court. He is scheduled to face a judge on Friday, the next step in a case that federal prosecutors have described as an online exploitation operation that may have affected a large number of young girls.