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St Paul (KROC AM News) - A Minnesota man has admitted to an online scheme that targeted young girls who wanted to be judged as “princesses.“

The US Attorney’s Office says 38-year-old Peter Monson of Cottage Grove will be sentenced at a later date.

He pleaded guilty Tuesday to production, attempted production, and possession of child pornography.

Prosecutors say Monson engaged in what is known as “catfishing” between June 2019 and April 2020. He created false personas in order to communicate with children on the internet, including Snapchat.

Prosecutors say he set up a bogus Snapchat profile of a 16-year-old girl named “Brianna” and asked minor girls to create sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves. They were then asked to send the photos and videos to the profile so could be rated by others as “princesses.”

According to prosecutors, in order to participate as a “princess,” Monson used the bogus profile to instruct the girls to follow certain rules, including creating and sending images and videos of the girls nude or engaging in sex acts.

According to court documents, Monson also used his iPhone to make a secret recording of an eight-year-old while the child was getting dressed.

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