Farmington Hills man charged with child pornography production and online exploitation

A man from Farmington Hills has been charged with producing and possessing child pornography, coercion and enticement of a minor, as well as making interstate threats. The charges were announced by United States Attorney Jerome F. Gorgon Jr., who was joined by Reuben Coleman, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI).

According to the federal criminal complaint, Justin Miller, 23, participated in online groups as a Nihilistic Violent Extremist (NVE). NVEs are described as individuals involved in criminal acts aimed at destabilizing society due to their hatred of it and desire for its collapse. The complaint alleges that Miller served as an administrator for an online group that encouraged self-harm among its members. He is accused of urging victims to cut his screenname into their skin and grooming underage girls to send him sexually explicit images and videos.

“The alleged crimes are sick and twisted. Nihilistic violent extremists shamefully terrorize vulnerable victims in our communities to create chaos and instability,” U.S. Attorney Gorgon said. “We will do everything in our power to root out and prosecute this perverse behavior.”

Reuben Coleman stated: "The federal charges announced today against Justin Miller reaffirm the FBI’s unrelenting commitment to protecting children from exploitation. Safeguarding our children from violence, coercion and exploitation is a top priority for the FBI. I extend my gratitude to the dedicated members assigned to this investigation, who will continue to work closely with the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Michigan, as this case moves forward.”

The FBI is leading the investigation with prosecution by Assistant U.S. Attorney Erin Ramamurthy.

Authorities emphasized that a criminal complaint is only a formal charge and does not indicate guilt; all defendants are presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.