Markell Greene, 27, of the Bronx, New York, admitted to reprehensible crimes involving a minor. The accused leveraged social media platforms to manipulate a vulnerable 12-year-old girl, coercing her into creating child pornography. In a misguided notion of meeting another teenager, the victim was then sexually assaulted by Greene when he travelled to Massachusetts.
The Department of Justice revealed in a press release that Greene initiated unsolicited contact via Snapchat with the minor in late 2021. The girl believed Greene to be around 16. Over several months, Greene manipulated the minor into sending explicit content, often instructing her to state her age during the videos. The abuse escalated in February 2022 when the girl was persuaded to meet in-person, and was subsequently raped, all of which was recorded by Greene on Snapchat.
Greene was taken into custody on state warrants in February 2022. A federal grand jury indicted him later that year, in November, where he remains. Greene pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of travel intending to, engage in illicit sexual conduct. His sentencing is set for February 15, 2024.
