A 21-year-old Frederick man has pleaded guilty to sexually exploiting a teenage girl he targeted online while posing as a boy her own age, according to federal authorities. Gleybar Josue Ramirez-Clemente used a fake persona to trick the girl into sending explicit images, then coerced her into sex acts and threatened to expose her to people in their community, officials say.
According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland, Ramirez-Clemente pretended he was a minor while engaging with the victim on a social media platform before eventually exploiting her. Federal authorities announced that he is facing more than a decade in prison after posing as a teen to prey on a minor online and threatening to expose her. As Daily Voice reports, he used the fake Instagram persona “Jefe” beginning in July 2025 to target the girl, who had no idea the account was being run by him.
A Weeks-Long Scheme Built on a Fake Identity
Ramirez-Clemente told the girl he was 16, and the two communicated for several weeks, per the same account. During that time, he asked her to send sexually explicit images of herself, then pressured her for additional images once she complied.
Prosecutors say the victim was 15 and 16 years old during the abuse, with that detail coming from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Maryland. The scheme escalated from there: Ramirez-Clemente coerced the girl into sex acts, recorded them, and then threatened to expose her actions to others, including people in their community, the outlet's report states.
Guilty Plea and Potential Prison Time
Ramirez-Clemente admitted to the scheme as part of his guilty plea to sexual exploitation of a child. He now faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years in federal prison, Daily Voice's report notes. Officials have released no details about his next court appearance.
Part of a Larger Pattern of Online Exploitation
Cases like this one are not isolated. The FBI has said it has seen an increase in financial sextortion of minors, in which offenders threaten to release explicit material unless victims send money or gift cards, according to the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
