Catfishing is the act of talking to someone on social media using a fraudulent profile, often with the purpose of forming deceptive romantic relationships.
Because this activity largely happens online, teenagers are victimized the most, usually by friends and acquaintances with cruel sense of humor. But pedophiles and sexual offenders are increasingly taking to catfishing.
This 14-year-old teenager from New York was victimized neither by an acquaintance nor a random pedophile—she was catfished by her own father.
“Masquerading as a 16-year-old boy, he started chatting online with his daughter,” said a Mama Mia report. “Eventually, the pair began calling each other boyfriend and girlfriend.”
The father, whose identity is being concealed to protect her daughter’s privacy, coerced her into sending nude photos of herself. Although at first she resisted, in time she caved.
“All you talk about is sex sex and more sex,” the girl had said at one point, according to a Syracuse report. “Honestly that is not what a relationship is about.”
“Then I will send these to your dad and then I won’t have to worry about anyone else having u,” he replied
“I told you that a bunch of times when we were dating that I don’t like those pics and now you are threatening me that if I don’t send you those then you’ll send my dad the ones I sent you before?” she texted back. “My life is ruined.”
Eventually the girl ended the relationship—then things got worse. Pretending to be her “boyfriend’s” mother, he said that the boy committed suicide after the breakup.
Shorty after that, the twisted father began molesting her.
“During the abuse, the father often referred to the nude photographs and told her how much he liked them, Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Fletcher wrote in court papers,” said the Mama Mia report.
That she was being molested was only discovered after a trip to the nurse’s office at school, leading to an investigation.
When the girl told the police about her relationship with her “boyfriend,” the police tracked down the texting account the supposed boy was using, and discovered that the messages came from someone in the girl’s own home.
The 41-year-old father pleaded 12 federal counts of enticing a child to produce child pornography, as well as receiving and sending child pornography.
He faces up to 250 years in prison when he is sentenced in July.
READ: No jail time for father who molested cancer-stricken daughter at mom’s request
READ: Why kids need to learn how to be smarter than the internet
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