MARTINEZ — A 25-year-old Canadian man has been sentenced to two years in prison for sexually extorting a Contra Costa County minor in 2020, prosecutors said.
Nicholas Fahey initially contacted the victim through a social media app in the fall of 2019 and solicited sexually explicit images, the district attorney’s office said in a news release.
After the victim complied, Fahey issued a series of threats indicating he would release the photographs unless the victim provided additional images, prosecutors said.
The case was referred to the county’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations. Fahey was identified as a suspect and later arrested at his home in Bay Bulls, located in the province of Newfoundland and Labrador.
On May 21, 2021, Fahey was charged in Canada’s version of superior court, prosecutors said.
Fahey was sentenced Thursday. In addition to the prison term, he was ordered to register as a sex offender for 10 years and serve three years of supervised release, prosecutors said.
Prosecutors said sexual extortion, also known as “sextortion,” is the most common crime targeting children on the internet. Between 2021 and 2023, 12,600 children in the United States were victims, resulting in at least 20 suicides, according to the FBI.
“Parents need to understand that individuals who prey on minors online are not restricted by national or state boundaries,” District Attorney Diana Becton said in the news release.
As for those who use the internet to harm children, Becton said “my office will collaborate with law enforcement agencies like the Royal Canadian Mounted Police to seek justice for the victims in our country.”