A New Zealand man has been arrested for creating a Facebook profile of a young woman and using it to lure underage boys to send him explicit photos and video of themselves.
Police allege that Cameron Stuart Hore, 27, posed on Facebook as a female teenager named Sarah Ruddenklau — a not uncommon name on New Zealand's South Island — and coerced boys, one as young as 11, to send him l ewd photos and webcam images.
Hore was charged with eight counts of sexual exploitation of people under 18, as well as blackmail, obtaining by deception and traveling to meet a young person after sexual grooming. Hore is deaf; a sign language interpreter signed the court proceedings yesterday (Nov. 9), in which it was determined he would remain in prison until the bail application can be heard on Nov. 22.
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The charge of "traveling to meet a young person" stems from another aspect of Hore's sextortion scam: police contend that once he had established a relationship with the boys who sent him photos, he then made contact with them and arranged to meet them, using the fictitious name Dan McPherson.
Police say "McPherson" offered his victims money to allow him to perform sexual acts on them, and said he would pay them via Internet banking sites.
"This is a classic online sexual predator who is targeting young people using the anonymity of the Internet," Detective Sgt. Scott Anderson of the Christchurch South police told New Zealand newspaper The Press.
Police have released the photo of "Sarah Ruddenklau," but they don’t know who the girl in the picture is, whether it is picture Hore stole online or whether she has any connection to the suspect.