A former FBI contractor is accused of forcing more than a dozen minors to send him explicit content via several social media platforms.
Brett Janes, a 26-year-old from Virginia, is facing charges including two counts of sexual exploitation of children, one count of receiving child pornography, one count of coercion and enticement, and one count of producing child sexual abuse content.
Janes was taken into custody after the father of a 13-year-old victim alerted law enforcement.
Per court documents, Janes allegedly represented himself as a member of a U.S. intelligence agency to minors through platforms like Discord and video game chat rooms.
Janes would then pressure the young boys in the chat rooms to share explicit content, and in cases where the boys declined, he would threaten to take his own life.
A grand jury indicted now-former FBI contractor Brett Janes on federal felony charges of sexually abusing and exploiting children to produce child pornography. Janes, a DC-based intel expert, had recently accepted a contract position within a headquarters unit in the FBI. pic.twitter.com/GtmCf3OzEp
— Mia Cathell (@MiaCathell) August 26, 2023
From Fox News:
A retired FBI contractor allegedly coerced nearly a dozen minors into sharing explicit content and engaging in sexual acts over social media, according to federal authorities.
Brett Janes, 26, of Arlington, Virginia, is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children and production of child sexual abuse material, one count of attempted coercion and enticement, and one count of receipt of child pornography after the father of one 13-year-old victim contacted police.
Janes contacted the 13-year-old boy, identified as minor victim 1 (MV1) in a federal complaint, through a video game called Valorant and through Discord, an instant messaging platform.
