A finance executive in the US who is facing 17 charges, including five counts of rape in the second degree, kept screenshots of the Instagram accounts of teenage girls on his iPad, and targeted those whose posts revealed they did not have money or tried to harm themselves, the media reported.
Michael Olson, 54, flew one of the victims — a 14-year-old teenage girl — around the country, passing her off as his daughter, gave her drugs and raped her in hotel rooms in New York City, according to a report in The New York Times.
The teenage victim was found in a Midtown Manhattan hotel room with Olson, overdosing on cocaine and ketamine, according to prosecutors with the Manhattan district attorney’s office.
Olson texted multiple other girls and their investigation would continue, they said.
“The iPad also included nude pictures of minors and photos of girls performing sexual acts,” the NYT report noted.
He faces a maximum prison sentence of 44 years on the charges that have already been brought.
A lawyer for Olson declined to comment.
“Predators seek out vulnerable victims. That is their standard operating procedure and digital technology has given them a whole new way to do it,” said Jane Manning, director of Women’s Equal Justice.
An Instagram spokesperson said in a statement that the platform worked “aggressively to fight child exploitation” and supported law enforcement “in its efforts to arrest and prosecute the criminals behind it.”
“We’re reaching out to local officials regarding this case,” the spokesperson added.
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