“According to an affidavit filed in support of the criminal complaint, in July 2023, the FBI in Milwaukee was made aware of a potential child victim through a report to law enforcement that originated with a mandated reporter. The report involved a 12-year-old victim,” states a release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Ohio.
Officials said Elam is alleged to have met the victim on Omegle, a free online chat website that allows users to socialize without the need to register.
“The service randomly pairs users in one-on-one chat sessions where they chat anonymously using the names ‘you’ and ‘stranger,’” the release states. “Elam and the victim allegedly exchanged Discord contact information and began chatting on the app.”
The U.S. Attorney’s Office said Elam “allegedly pretended to be a 14-year-old male and coerced the child victim to send him live sexual material by telling her that he would log off Discord and cut himself if she did not comply.
“It is alleged that Elam also pretended to be a 14-year-old cousin to his other persona. Using the second persona, he allegedly coerced the victim into sending new live sexual content by threatening to show “his cousin’s mom” her previous encounters with Elam,” the release states.
There were at least three other minor victims between October and December 2022, the release said.
The federal announcement also says Elam encouraged a victim to self-harm through cutting, and do it on live video.
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