Teen Man Accused of Victimizing Young Girl in Rochester Sextortion Case

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News)- Authorities have issued an arrest warrant for a teenage man in connection with a Rochester sextortion case. 

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The warrant, filed in Olmsted County Court on Thursday, indicates the victim in the case is a girl under the age of nine. 

Rochester police first learned of the case on January 23. The warrant says the two began conversing on Snapchat the day before. 

Louisiana Man Charged by Arrest Warrant in Rochester Sexstortion Case

18-year-old Devin Luke Romero is charged with one count of use of minors in pornographic work, a count of possession of child pornography and two counts soliciting a child to engage in a sexual act. 

The charges say Romero initiated the conversation and asked for the victim’s age. She originally said she was 17 then said she was 14. 

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Romero then demanded the girl send him sexually-explicit photos of herself and threatened to leak her address when she refused his request. The charges say the victim sent three sexually explicit photos of herself to Romero. 

He threatened to send the photos and the victim’s username to other people unless the victim sent him sexually explicit photos daily, the charges say. 

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After connecting the snapchat account to Romero, investigators learned that he had also been chatting with at least three other people who claimed they were girls under the age of 16, the warrant says. 

He’a also accused of demanding sexually explicit photos from those girls. In those chats, Romero also said he lives in Louisiana, according to the court document. 

Law enforcement confirmed Romero has a Louisiana address through a bank account linked to a Google Pay account. 

Authorities have deemed him a public safety risk and requested the warrant to ensure public safety, the court document says.