Cobb County man sentenced to 40 years in disturbing sextortion case involving 150 young girls

COBB COUNTY, Ga. — A 25-year-old Cobb County man will spend the next four decades in prison for a disturbing scheme to force young girls to send him explicit photos of them.

Benjamin Jenkins, of Mableton, was found guilty on Tuesday of producing and distributing child pornography that he coerced more than 100 young girls to create.

“Jenkins exploited as many as 150 girls for his perverse satisfaction, causing unbelievable trauma to these children and their families,” said U.S. Attorney Byung J. “BJay” Pak. “The sheer degradation and depravity that Jenkins forced his victims to endure is unimaginable. This sentence will hopefully help these courageous victims and their families heal.”

Pak said beginning in 2015, Jenkins allegedly used different identities to contact girls between the ages of 13 and 16 years. To lure the girls, he would use different aliases and profiles where he would persuade them to send a sexually suggestive photo of themselves. After a girl sent him a photo, Jenkins would threaten her into sending him more photos and videos by claiming that he would post their photos online or send them to their family and friends. Jenkins instructed the girls on what body parts to show, what poses to make and other disturbing actions. If a girl did not provide him with a photo or video quickly enough, he would start a countdown clock: the girl had a certain amount of time to provide him with an image before he started posting her other images online.

Once a girl blocked Jenkins online, he would send her explicit photos to her parents and friends with demands that the girl resume communications with him. Jenkins also posted his victim’s nude photos and contact information online with messages for men to contact the girls directly for more photos or for sex.

In total, Jenkins sextorted as many as 150 girls or more.

After his release from prison, Jenkins will have a lifetime of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

Jenkins was charged with nine counts of producing child pornography and three counts of distributing child pornography. He was convicted of all of these charges by a federal jury on Jan. 16.

The case was part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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