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A New York man pleaded guilty last week to attempted coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.
According to Eastern District of Virginia court documents, from August 2020 through November 2020, Anthony Lynch, 59, who is a registered sex offender in New York, communicated with the out-of-state minor over the telephone and through various social media applications.
In those communications, Lynch repeatedly demanded that the minor take explicit videos and photographs of herself for his personal use.
When the underage victim did not comply, Lynch repeatedly threatened her, writing that the “war has started” and claimed, among other things, that he would distribute intimate pictures of her over the internet and email the victim’s school with her information and claim that she was performing online sex shows.
After a lengthy investigation, including a search warrant executed at his purported residence in Brooklyn, Lynch was located at a relative’s home in Chesapeake and arrested.
Lynch is scheduled to be sentenced on December 13.
Lynch faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 20 years and a maximum penalty of life in prison.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
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Crystal Graham
