‘No longer a threat to our children.’ Man gets 50-year sentence for sexual extortion
A Virginia man was sentenced to 50 years in prison for sexually extorting children across the country, including South Florida.
Joseph Woodson Jr., 30, was convicted by U.S. Southern District Judge Jose Martinez for using the internet to target and extort children through sexual exploitation and porn. He was sentenced to 600 months in federal prison and a lifetime of supervised release.
From October 2017 to September 2018, Woodson “persuaded, induced, enticed and coerced” numerous young girls, evidence showed in his trial.
Some of Woodson’s victims lived in Davie and Plantation, the United States Attorney’s Office said.
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Woodson would gain access to the children’s Snapchat accounts by pretending to be one of their friends on social media, the state attorney’s office said. Once he got their passwords, he would take over their account and demand the kids send him sexually explicit videos and pictures of themselves using Kik Messenger, a text app.
He also conspired with others to trap these children over the internet, the state attorney’s office said.
“Child predators beware — anyone who uses social media and the internet to target and extort children through sexual exploitation and pornographic offenses risks spending the rest of their lives in prison,” said U.S. Attorney Ariana Fajardo Orshan in a statement. “We implore the community to help us protect our loved ones by monitoring our children’s social media accounts and reporting all suspected offenses to law enforcement.”
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U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Florida and the FBI worked with several city police departments including Davie police, Plantation police and Coral Springs police.
“It is through partnerships such as this, that we are able to extend the arm of law enforcement to ensure predators such as Joseph Isaiah Woodson, Jr. are no longer a threat to our children,” said Davie Police Chief Dale Engle. “We are grateful here at the Davie Police Department that the resources needed were made available to see this case through to a conclusion.”
The FBI called Woodson “a menace who preyed on the most vulnerable among us, children,” said George L. Piro, Special Agent in Charge, FBI Miami.
Woodson was found guilty in September 2019 on distribution of child pornography, sending extortionate threats, conspiracy and three counts of production of child pornography.
