According to the Justice Department, in April, 39-year-old Joshua Henry Punt of Ridgefield, Washington pleaded guilty to using social media apps like Snapchat and Kik to pressure girls into sending sexually explicit photos, then using the photos to blackmail the teens into sending more.
According to a statement from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Washington, eight victims were ranging from the ages of 12 to 16, who were identified across the United States, including in Arkansas, California, Kentucky, Nevada, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas, and West Virginia.
“This predatory defendant infiltrated our homes, using electronic access and social media to deceive, pressure, and sexually exploit young girls across the country,” Tessa M. Gorman, the acting U.S. attorney, said in the statement. “We warn our children about the ‘dangerous stranger’ they might encounter on the street — we must be equally vigilant about the ones who are lurking online.”
Punts lawyer, Colin Fieman, called the case “just a tragic situation all around.”
“Joshua was the victim of extreme childhood abuse,” Fieman said in an interview on Monday night. “He’s schizophrenic. He’s never had any mental health support. So there were a lot of mitigating and complicating circumstances with the case that the judge took into careful account today.”
The statement noted that Mr. Punt was identified as the administrator of a child pornography distribution group on Kik, where he required new members to share content and rejected those who did not. An undercover FBI agent discovered a cache of child pornography after following links the Punt had posted.
Authorities said that in April, Mr. Punt pled guilty to producing child pornography, enticing a juvenile, distributing child pornography, and advertising child pornography. After serving his prison sentence, he will be required to register as a sex offender.
Local authorities arrested Mr. Punt in May 2019 and charged him federally that November.
In December 2018, the New York State Police and FBI were contacted by the girl and her parents to investigate the incident further after Punt continued harassing and threatening the girl for more material.
Mr. Punt is a prime example of what is referred to as a ‘sextortionist,’” Donald Voiret, an F.B.I. agent, said in the statement. “While he will be serving time in a federal penitentiary for his actions, I would encourage parents everywhere to engage with their children about the risks of online predators.”
In a statement, Judge Benjamin H. Settle of the United States District Court said the damage caused by Mr. Punt will last for decades, “rippling through lives.”
He told Punt directly: “You could see the pain in those girls, and you continued to do it — to eight precious, innocent young girls — you tortured them.”
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