Gerardo Javier Montes

According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Missouri, U.S. District Judge Stephen R. Clark sentenced Gerardo Javier Montes, 33, a man from Hawaii, to 20 years in prison on Thursday, August 15, 2024. The office says the sentence was for the sextortion of a 14-year-old girl in Missouri and the distribution of explicit images of other minors. Montes had pleaded guilty in March to one felony count of distribution of child pornography, an offence the office's plea release said carries a mandatory minimum prison term of five years and a maximum of 20 years. The Reddit connection is stated in the release. According to the office, between December 6, 2021, and January 14, 2022, Montes communicated with the girl via Reddit. She thought he was 21 but later found out that he was 31. The office says he turned the conversations to sexual matters and gave her advice on how to create nude images. When she tried to cut off contact on January 13, 2022, it says, he threatened to post nude photos of her on multiple social media sites. It also says he created a fake Reddit account, pretending to be a 15-year-old girl, to try to trick her into providing nude images, and that on January 15, 2022, he sent images of the victim to someone else via Discord. The office says an investigation began after the FBI received a tip about the sextortion and traced the blackmailer to Hawaii. It says Montes traded child sexual abuse material with others online. The release does not say where the trading took place. It also says he made posts and comments in teen-focused Reddit groups, as well as groups discussing depression and rape fantasies. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Bateman prosecuted the case. Hawaii News Now reported the sentence and the Reddit contact, attributing them to officials. The releases reviewed do not name a subreddit or a Reddit username.