A Virginia man has been hit with an indictment on charges related to the alleged sexual exploitation of a minor, authorities stated Wednesday. The indictment, as announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota, accuses Raymond Jung Woo Choi, a 41-year-old from Centreville, Virginia, of leveraging social media platforms, such as Instagram, to solicit and coerce a 13 to 14-year-old girl into producing sexually explicit material.
Court documents reveal that between November 2023 and February 2024, Choi, under the guise of "Jason Lee," initiated conversations of a sexual nature with the young girl. Building what is described as a grooming relationship, Choi sent gifts to the minor through Amazon and mail, utilizing the U.S. Postal Service, all while persuading her to send him sexually explicit images and videos, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office, District of Minnesota. The indictment further alleges that, on February 17, Choi traveled from Virginia to Minnesota attempting to meet the minor in person, an encounter that ultimately was thwarted by family intervention and law enforcement.
Following his arrest on July 13, in Fairfax City, Virginia, Choi made his first appearance in court on July 15. According to an official release, Magistrate Judge Lindsey R. Vaala of the U.S. District Court in the Eastern District of Virginia ordered Choi to remain in custody, pending his trial in the District of Minnesota. The charges against him include one count of the production, one count of the receipt of child pornography, and one count of coercion and enticement of a minor.
