Man posing as YouTube star jailed for global sextortion

Source: BBC

Man posing as YouTube star jailed for global sextortion

28 August 2024

Tiffanie Turnbull
BBC News, Sydney

A predator posing as a famous teenage YouTuber who blackmailed hundreds of girls around the globe into performing sex acts on camera has been jailed for 17 years in Australia.

Muhammad Zain Ul Abideen Rasheed pleaded guilty to 119 charges, relating to 286 people from 20 countries, including the UK, the US, Japan and France. Two-thirds of his victims were aged under 16.

A Perth court heard the 29-year-old coerced them into a cycle of increasingly extreme abuse by threatening to send explicit messages and images of them to their loved ones.

Australian authorities say it is "one of the worst sextortion cases" in history.

"The callous disregard this man had for his victims around the world and their distress, humiliation and fear make it one of the most horrific sextortion cases prosecuted in Australia," said Australian Federal Police Assistant Commissioner David McLean.

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Read more: https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cp35z4z08qvo