HONOLULU - Christopher Ernest Fox, 21, a former Military Police Officer stationed at Schofield Barracks, Hawaii, was sentenced today to 15 years of imprisonment for the production of child pornography for his online exploitation and “sextortion" of a minor female. As part of his sentence, Fox must pay $10,000 in restitution to the victim and her family, and serve 10 years of supervised release. Fox will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to court documents and information presented in court, in August 2016 Fox began corresponding with a 12-year-old female in the United Kingdom using social media applications, including Instagram and Snapchat. In September 2016, Fox began to solicit sexually explicit photographs from the girl, knowing she was a minor. After obtaining naked photographs of the girl, Fox then asked for more. Fox used the photographs he initially received from the girl to blackmail her into sending additional explicit photographs, and threatened to distribute the initial photographs to her friends and family if she did not comply with his demands. Ultimately, when his victim refused to continue sending Fox explicit photographs, he created a fictitious social media account under her name, and used that account to distribute the sexually explicit photographs to her friends and classmates. As a result of Fox’s crime, the minor was bullied, harassed, and threatened with further extortion by random strangers online.
At Fox’s sentencing, Chief U.S. District Judge J. Michael Seabright remarked upon the “harm and terror this [crime] would cause somebody." He went on to call Fox’s actions “a lifechanging, traumatic experience," and noted, “saying his actions were wrong is a grave understatement."
“Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative within the Department of Justice, combats crimes against children," said U.S. Attorney Kenji M. Price. “This Office is committed to holding those who sexually exploit our young people accountable for their crimes. These kind of crimes are serious and have devastating impacts on victims, their families, and the community atlarge. The U.S. Attorney’s Office will continue to aggressively prosecute, and seek significant sentences for defendants who prey on our young people."
The case was investigated by the United States Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations, with assistance from the Wiltshire Police Department in the United Kingdom, and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Morgan Early.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
