Jersey City Man Used Gaming App To Try To Extort Child For Sexual Photos: AG

JERSEY CITY, NJ — A Jersey City man tried to extort a 12-year-old girl to send him sexually explicit photos of herself over the gaming app Discord, according to the New Jersey Attorney General's office.

Ndachi I. Ndungu, 25, was charged with attempted manufacturing child sexual exploitation or abuse material, theft by extortion, and cyber harassment.

Ndungu was among the 31 individuals charged with sexually exploiting children online in “Operation 24/7,” a collaborative operation launched to address the continued spike in reports of potential threats to children from online predators during the COVID pandemic. According to the AG and an investigation by the New Jersey State Police and Division of Criminal Justice, Ndungu chatted with numerous other potential victims between the ages of 7 and 15 on Discord. He would get a photo of the child and then threaten to share it on social media or threaten to report them to Discord. He is accused of threatening the children until they agreed to send more explicit photos.

“With the prevalence of online communications in today’s life, protecting children online is paramount,” said Acting Attorney General Bruck. “We will continue to investigate and prosecute sexual predators who use social media and gaming platforms to exploit children.”

Second-degree charges carry a sentence of five to 10 years in prison and a fine of up to $150,000, and fourth-degree charges carry a sentence of up to 18 months in state prison and a criminal fine of up to $10,000. Theft by Extortion is a No Early Release Act (“N.E.R.A.”) charge that mandates 85% percent of sentences served before becoming eligible for parole. The indictment is merely an accusation and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.

Acting Attorney General Bruck and Director Ruotolo urged anyone with information about the distribution of child sexual abuse material on the internet—or about suspected improper contact by unknown persons communicating with children via the internet or possible exploitation or sexual abuse of children—to please contact the New Jersey Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Tipline at 888-648-6007.