Former medical student sentenced for online sextortion scheme
NORFOLK, Va. – A Canadian man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Thursday for orchestrating an online sextortion scheme and producing images of child sexual abuse. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Virginia Beach Police Department (VBPD).
“The defendant repeatedly engaged in the sexual exploitation and extortion of numerous young girls using threats and fear to commit devastating crimes,” said Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. “As this case demonstrates, we will aggressively pursue perpetrators of this unfathomable form of abuse – no matter how long it takes – to help bring a measure of justice and healing for the victims.”
According to court documents, HSI and VBPD first identified Marco Viscomi, 36, of Ontario, in 2012 after a father of two girls, who were 13 and 17 years old at the time, reported to VBPD that his daughters had been sexually extorted by someone they met online. The person threatened the girls online and forced the sisters to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he watched from Canada. VBPD and HSI traced the culprit to Ontario and identified Viscomi as the perpetrator. Viscomi was a 26-year-old medical student at that time.
“After nearly a decade, this case is finally coming to a close because of the relentless work of law enforcement,” said Raymond Villanueva, special agent in charge of HSI Washington, D.C. “Viscomi manipulated young victims into engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and then, once identified, fought tirelessly to avoid facing charges for his actions. Today, justice was served, and another child predator is behind bars.”
Additional investigation uncovered Viscomi had engaged in similar sextortion conduct with hundreds of other victims. HSI identified and located over 70 such minors, including several sets of sisters who Viscomi terrorized online. In July 2012, Viscomi was charged in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia and arrested in Canada. He fought extradition to the United States until December 2019, when the Canadian courts finally ordered him to be extradited to Norfolk to face the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elizabeth M. Yusi and E. Rebecca Gantt prosecuted the case.
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