13-Year-Old Dies After Illinois Man Told Her To Make Violent, Explicit Videos: HSI

Editor's Note: This story contains information about violent and sexually explicit acts that may be disturbing to readers.

PLANO, IL — A 27-year-old Plano man faces numerous federal charges after he instructed a 13-year-old in the United Kingdom to record videos in which she strangled herself while committing sexually explicit acts, according to court documents, which noted the girl died not long after the incident.

Khamryn Zyiel Johnson is charged with sexual exploitation of children, transfer of obscene materials to minors and activities regarding material containing child pornography, according to case records.

U.K. law enforcement contacted the Department of Homeland Security after Johnson chatted with the girl on WhatsApp shortly before her death, according to a criminal complaint, which said the girl had been making and sending explicit material to Johnson at his request.

Johnson urged the girl to make videos in which she asphyxiated herself with an Apple Watch charging cord while engaging in sexual conduct, and she complied with the request on May 21, the complaint said, with her mother finding her the next day, nude, unresponsive and hanging from a bedpost by the cord. She had been on a WhatsApp video call with Johnson shortly before the discovery, according to the complaint.

The girl died several days later, according to the complaint, which noted Johnson also sent the girl sexually explicit videos and images of himself.

Information provided to law enforcement by social media platforms suggested Johnson had possessed child pornography since 2021, the complaint said.

He was arrested in late June and remains in federal custody, according to authorities.