The Federal Bureau of Investigation is actively seeking individuals who may have fallen prey to an alleged sextortion plot orchestrated by an Austin man. 19-year-old Tre Von Harris is facing charges following an indictment by a federal grand jury which includes two counts of sexual exploitation of children and a single count related to interstate communication with intent for extortion. This information comes directly from the FBI’s San Antonio Division and was reported by CBS Austin.
The indictment accuses Harris of having posed as a teenage girl named "Michelle" on various social media platforms starting from November 2022 until his apprehension in May 2024. The FBI claims he predominantly targeted males under the age of 18, convincing them to produce and send sexually explicit material to "Michelle." It is alleged that, upon receiving these materials, Harris would sometimes then contact the victims under his own identity, demanding that they continue to comply with "Michelle's" requests or face the consequences of the videos being shared with individuals on their friends lists. In a case described by KXAN as involving "a very young individual too. We’re not talking hardened criminal that got out of jail," Harris's alleged actions illustrate a disturbing pattern of deception and threat.
The increase in sextortion cases has been significant, with the FBI reporting at least a 20% surge in such incidents involving minors for the period from October 2022 to March 2023, compared to the same duration the previous year. Alex Doran, an FBI Supervisory Special Agent, informed KXAN that the uptick in cases is typically seen at the start of the summer when "more children at home. They’re online. They’re unsupervised."
Officials are trying to tie together all potential victims of Harris's scheme, emphasizing that more individuals may have been threatened, harassed, or extorted. They’re urged to come forward and can expect to be eligible for various services and possibly restitution under federal laws. The suspect is believed to have used multiple accounts to communicate with his targets on platforms including Snapchat, Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, Telegram, and CashApp. Those who believe they may have been affected, or possess any information relevant to the investigation, are invited to fill out a form located on the FBI website. For confidentiality and sensitivity towards the victims, the FBI has not released more details about the nature of the threats or the number of potential victims.
