Jury Convicts Former Marine in Sextortion Scheme Targeting Minors, Faces Up to Life in Prison

<_w3a_sdt combobox="t" docpart="8D090D12E13A49CC914EABCB6A23DFBF" id="-300388633" sdttag="Location" title="Location"><_w3a_listitem datavalue="RALEIGH" listvalue="RALEIGH"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="GREENVILLE" listvalue="GREENVILLE"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="NEW BERN" listvalue="NEW BERN"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="WILMINGTON" listvalue="WILMINGTON"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="ELIZABETH CITY" listvalue="ELIZABETH CITY"> WILMINGTON, N.C. - A federal jury convicted a <_w3a_sdt docpart="F90015AC71174937B61E1CDF6153EE03" id="529912395" sdttag="City" title="City">former Marine stationed at Cherry Point Air Station on five counts of production of child pornography, four counts of online exploitation of a minor, one count of possession of child pornography including a victim under 12, and two counts of extortion. Anthony Joseph Fritzinger, age 25, faces up to life in prison when sentenced.

"Criminals like Fritzinger actively target kids on social media to coerce them into sending explicit images, which they then use to intimidate, control, and extort their victims. This former Marine now faces up to life in prison for his scheme," said U.S. Attorney Michael Easley. "We cracked this case because one victim had the courage to come forward, which led other brave victims to share their stories. This case is a warning to predators and wakeup call for parents. Closely monitor your kids' social media accounts and talk to them about the dangers of strangers online who may pretend to be a friend."

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Fritzinger tried to extort an eighteen-year-old online to send him naked pictures by threatening to distribute naked pictures she had sent him when she was a minor. Her family contacted their local police, who referred the case to Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS). NCIS discovered Fritzinger's extensive online activities stalking, soliciting, and extorting minors to obtain sexual images and videos of them.

Fritzinger used teen "dating" websites like Spotafriend and mylol.com to identify and contact potential victims, sometimes posing as a teenage girl. Then he began online "relationships" with victims, including on Snapchat and Instagram, in which he encouraged children to send him sexually explicit images and videos. Fritzinger taught his victims to engage in a dominant/submissive relationship in which he exerted total control over them and required them to perform sadistic, sexual punishments. He manipulated and coerced victims to continue sending images, including falsely claiming to be dying and exploiting their immaturity and personal histories. Then he extorted several victims, threatening to expose their images to their friends and family if they did not send more.

Evidence recovered in the case from Fritzinger's cell phone, laptop, social media accounts, and Dropbox account including hundreds of screenshots of apparent minors' social media profiles, hundreds of sexually explicit chat messages enticing minors to produce child pornography, hundreds of images and videos of the victims, and other images and videos of child pornography, including depicting victims under 12 years old.

"Anthony Fritzinger deserves to be held accountable for the predatory crimes he has committed against children, who are the most vulnerable members of our society. Such behavior has no place in our communities," said Special Agent in Charge Kelly Parrish of the NCIS Carolinas Field Office. "This conviction demonstrates the unwavering commitment of NCIS, our investigative partners and the U.S. Attorney's Office to conducting thorough investigations and working aggressively to bring to justice those who threaten the safety of our communities."

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

Michael Easley, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of North Carolina made the announcement after <_w3a_sdt combobox="t" docpart="8D090D12E13A49CC914EABCB6A23DFBF" id="-206649939" sdttag="Judge" title="Judge"><_w3a_listitem listvalue="Choose an item."> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle" listvalue="U.S. District Judge Terrence W. Boyle"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan" listvalue="U.S. District Judge Louise W. Flanagan"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III" listvalue="U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II" listvalue="Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt" listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge W. Earl Britt"> <_w3a_listitem datavalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard" listvalue="Senior U.S. District Judge Malcolm J. Howard"> Chief U.S. District Judge Richard E. Myers II accepted the verdict. <_w3a_sdt docpart="C805E775609B45BB8EC23AF479DC8CD0" id="-842703485" sdttag="Law Enforcement Agencies" title="Law Enforcement Agencies">The NCIS are investigating the case and Assistant U.S. Attorneys <_w3a_sdt docpart="828BCD8A5E6E4ED1B94FA36BA6E90B20" id="-178118984" sdttag="AUSA/SAUSA" title="AUSA/SAUSA">Erin Blondel and Jake Pugh are prosecuting the case.

Related court documents and information can be found on the website of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of North Carolina or on PACER by searching for Case No.<_w3a_sdt docpart="E2CD7192582A4A14B3281B58226D1971" id="-1734377804" sdttag="Case No." title="Case No.">4:20-CR-00081.