TERRE HAUTE —
Federal prosecutors continue to build their “sextortion” case against a Clay County man accused of coercing young people into giving sexual images of themselves to him over the Internet.
On Tuesday, prosecutors filed a total of 10 new charges against Richard L. Finkbiner, 39, of Brazil.
Finkbiner is now facing a total of 10 charges of sexual exploitation, two charges of extortion and one charge of possession of child pornography.
While a dozen alleged victims have been identified, federal prosecutors say the full list of victims could actually be in the hundreds.
“This may very well be a historic prosecution of sizable proportion in terms of the number of victims that Mr. Finkbiner, as we say, ‘sextorted,’” said Joe Hogsett, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Indiana.
Prosecutors allege Finkbiner, who was first arrested in April accused of the sexual exploitation of two minors, used Internet chat sites to find his victims. He would use fake webcam images to trick young people into believing they were viewing live sexual images. He would then convince them to perform sexually explicit or suggestive acts themselves, which he would secretly record. Finkbiner would allegedly then threaten to distribute those recorded images to friends, family and teachers of the young people, essentially blackmailing them into providing even more images.
“This sort of started down the trail of sextortion where they then were allegedly commanded to perform more and more embarrassing or degrading acts through additional webcam providers,” said Zach Myers, co-lead prosecutor in the case.
Alleged victims in the case identified so far include 12 youths altogether. They range in age from 12 to 17 and live in 11 different states, including Alaska, Iowa, Indiana, West Virginia, Colorado and New York. Most of the 12 alleged victims are teenage boys, although three are girls, ranging in age from 14 to 17.
Prosecutors do not allege that Finkbiner ever made good on his threats to distribute the images he captured. Nor do they accuse the Clay County man of attempting to benefit financially from the alleged activity.
“It is not at all unusual in cases of this nature … where the currency is not financial,” Hogsett said Tuesday at a news conference in Terre Haute. “It’s not money. Frankly, the currency often times in these child exploitation cases is simply more images. They demand more and more images.”
Prosecutors hope additional young people come forward to help build their case.
If found guilty, Finkbiner presently faces the possibility of decades in prison. Each of the 10 sexual exploitation charges carries a maximum sentence of 30 years. Possession of child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 10 years and the two extortion charges carry maximum sentences of two years each.
Finkbiner has been in federal custody since his arrest on April 6. He has been ordered held until his trail. An initial hearing will be scheduled at the U.S. Federal Court in Terre Haute.
Reporter Arthur Foulkes can be reached at (812) 231-4232 or arthur.foulkes@tribstar.com.
Prosecutors looking for help
Prosecutors alleged Richard Finkbiner was careful to hide his identity from his alleged victims. However, the following email addresses are reported to have been used in the crimes:
• horni_man@hotmail.com
• hawty_gurl@live.com
• daddys_hoe@hotmail.com
• prntrdr@live.com
• hawtygurl246@aol.com
• neilbrenen@yahoo.com
Anyone who believes he or she had contact with these email addresses and/or was a victim of sexual exploitation online is encouraged to contact the Federal Bureau of Investigation at (877) 542-8979.
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Richard Finkbiner
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12 victims now identified in sextortion case
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