A Beaverton man has been charged with federal child exploitation crimes after using various social media apps, including Snapchat and TikTok, to stalk and sexually exploit a minor victim from Australia.
Jorge Rosales, age 25, has been charged with sexually exploiting children, distributing and possessing child pornography, cyberstalking, and enticing a minor online, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon announced.
According to court documents, a special agent from Homeland Security Investigations received an investigative referral from INTERPOL and the Australian Federal Police related to the sexual exploitation of a then-9-year-old victim in Australia.
According to the Australian authorities, in 2016 or 2017, an individual later identified as Rosales began communicating with the minor victim using a social media application known as TikTok. Rosales claimed he was a 36-year-old male named Alex.
Over a period of months, Rosales engaged the minor in a series of progressively more sexually explicit conversations even after the minor told him she was 9 years old.
Rosales encouraged the victim to produce and send him sexually explicit photos and videos of herself.
When the victim declined, he threatened to turn her friends and family against her, and, in at least one instance, sent her photos of animals beaten until injured. Eventually, the minor victim sent naked photos of herself to Rosales.
The minor victim ultimately blocked Rosales’ accounts after receiving many similar requests from Rosales, the U.S. attorney’s office said.
In response, Rosales created and used dozens of new social media accounts to stalk and torment the minor victim over a period of several years.
Rosales was arrested this week and made his initial appearance in federal court Thursday. He was ordered detained pending further court proceedings.
