The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina is warning parents of the perils of social media, after former Marine stationed at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point was convicted on child pornography charges.
U.S. Attorney Michael Easley said 25-year-old Anthony Fritzinger was found guilty of five counts of production of child pornography, four counts of online exploitation of a minor, one count of possession of child pornography including a victim under 12, and two counts of extortion.
Court documents show Fritzinger used teen “dating” websites like Spotafriend and mylol.com to identify and contact potential victims, sometimes posing as a teenage girl. Then he began online “relationships” with victims, including on Snapchat and Instagram, in which he encouraged children to send him sexually explicit images and videos.
He was accused of extorting several victims, threatening to expose their images to their friends and family if they did not send more.
Easley said the case was solved because one victim had the courage to come forward, which led other brave victims to share their stories.
He added that it’s a wakeup call for parents to closely monitor their kids’ social media accounts and talk to them about the dangers of strangers online who may pretend to be a friend.
Fritzinger faces up to life in prison when he’s sentenced.
