Ohio man sentenced to 20 years in sextortion case

An Ohio man was sentenced Tuesday in a local example of what child exploitation investigators are calling a disturbing and growing trend known as "sextortion."

William Koch, 20, was sentenced to 20 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for child sexual exploitation and other crimes, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) offices in Cleveland and Toronto and the FBI. Koch must also register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

According to the investigation, Koch attempted to coerce more than a dozen minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct between 2010 and 2013 for the purpose of producing and sharing the content. Koch threatened the minors, and used various forms of blackmail to keep his victims from contacting authorities.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 10,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.

HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.