Man Accused Of Tricking Teen Boys Online Into Sending Him Nude Photos
MINNEAPOLIS (WCCO) -- An Eagan man faces several child pornography charges after being accused of using social media to obtain nude photos of teenage boys.
U.S. Attorney Andy Lugar says 32-year-old Anton Martynenko posed as women on social media and encouraged teens to send him explicit photos since 2011.
Martynenko allegedly used aliases such as "Marie Anna," "Marie94mn" and "Courtney Jamsgen," and told his victims that he was a University of Minnesota student who worked as a nude model.
One of his victims discovered nude photos of himself had been circulating on social media one year after his online interaction with Martynenko, who was using the "Marie Anna" alias.
"I urge teenagers and young adults to be particularly cautious and highly skeptical when encountering strangers online," Lugar said. "Unfortunately, there are far too many people who seek to take advantage of and harm our youth over the internet. We will continue to do all we can to stop them."
Investigators searched Martynenko's Eagan home in early October, where they found flash drives and other forms of electronic media hidden atop ceiling tiles.
Thousands of images of young men were also seized, which were sorted by name, age and hometown. Some of the images also listed the name of the victim's high school.
Martynenko was charged Tuesday with one count each of producing, advertising and possessing child porn, as well as a count of receipt of child porn.
