Acting Attorney General John J. Hoffman today announced that a Salem County man has been indicted on multiple counts of extortion and first-degree manufacturing child pornography for allegedly stalking underage girls on the Internet and blackmailing the victims to make them send him sexually explicit photos of themselves or expose themselves on a webcam.
The indictment stems from an investigation by the Division of Criminal Justice and ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Michael Van Culin, 31, of Monroeville, allegedly obtained sexually explicit photos or videos of four girls: three who were 14 to 16 years old at the time of the alleged conduct and one who was 17.
He allegedly attempted to blackmail a fifth girl into sending him sexually explicit photos, but she did not comply. Van Culin would contact and befriend teenage girls on the Internet using popular social media sites or chat rooms, usually presenting himself as a teenage boy.
He allegedly obtained nude photos of the victims or sensitive personal information about them through those chats or, in several cases, by hacking into their email or social media accounts. He then allegedly threatened to release the photos or personal information about the victims on the Internet or expose them to their parents, a boyfriend or their schoolmates if they did not meet his demands. He allegedly ordered the girls to send him explicit photos of themselves or strip on a webcam and engage in sexual conduct, which he recorded.
Van Culin was indicted Friday, Sept. 18. He is charged under the state’s strict new child pornography law with first-degree manufacturing child pornography, which carries a sentence of 10 to 20 years in prison, 85 percent of which must be served without parole. The girls Van Culin allegedly blackmailed or, in one case, attempted to blackmail, lived in Canada, Arizona, Philadelphia, Maryland and Seattle.
Van Culin was charged in a 15-count state grand jury indictment obtained by the Division of Criminal Justice Financial & Computer Crimes Bureau.
He is charged with two counts of manufacturing child pornography (1st degree), one count of manufacturing child pornography (2nd degree), five counts of extortion (2nd degree), one count of computer theft by altering computer data (2nd degree), four counts of computer theft by unauthorized access (3rd degree), one count of distribution of child pornography (2nd degree) for allegedly distributing pornographic images to another person, and one count of possession of child pornography (3rd degree). He also is charged with hacking into email and online accounts of two additional victims, a teenage girl and the boyfriend of one of the alleged extortion victims.