A 39-year-old man is facing five felony charges after Berkeley police say he demanded explicit photos and videos from a 13-year-old girl he met on TikTok, then threatened to expose images she had sent him unless she kept complying with his demands. Raymond Pearce was arrested at Telegraph and Durant avenues in Southside Berkeley, and court records list him as homeless.
According to The Berkeley Scanner, the girl connected with Pearce on TikTok and later communicated with him through the TextNow app. Investigators say Pearce continued pursuing her even after she told him she was 13. During exchanges in early October, authorities say, Pearce threatened to expose images the girl had sent him unless she continued complying with his demands, and Berkeley police say he also tried to obtain her home address.
A Parent's Call Started the Investigation
The girl eventually told a parent what had happened, and the parent contacted police on Oct. 12. From there, investigators obtained electronic search warrants that helped them identify Pearce as the suspect, leading to his arrest.
The Alameda County district attorney's office charged Pearce with five felonies on Nov. 5. The outlet's report lists the felony charges as extortion, contacting a minor with intent to commit a sex crime, and possession of child sexual abuse material. Court records also show Pearce facing a misdemeanor charge of annoying or molesting a minor. No bail amount was listed for him in booking records, and he was scheduled for arraignment Friday at Wiley Manuel Courthouse in Oakland.
Online Enticement Reports Have Surged Nationally
Cases like this one are unfolding against a backdrop of rising numbers nationally. The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children reported more than 186,800 online enticement reports in 2023, saying such reports increased by more than 300% between 2021 and 2023. The organization said it had already received more than 456,000 online-enticement reports in 2024 through Oct. 5 of that year.
A separate analysis from Thorn, conducted with NCMEC, examined more than 15 million CyberTipline reports submitted between 2020 and 2023, with a focus on the sextortion of minors. That research found NCMEC received an average of 812 sextortion reports per week in the most recent year analyzed, with more than two-thirds appearing to be financially motivated. The same analysis identified Instagram and Snapchat as the most common platforms used in the sextortion cases it reviewed, according to Thorn's findings.
The allegations against Pearce remain unproven, and the case is still working through the court system following Friday's scheduled arraignment.
