MN Man Indicted After Allegedly Targeting More Than 60 Girls

MINNEAPOLIS (WJON News) – A Minnesota man has been charged in an online sextortion scheme that victimized more than 60 minor girls across the country and abroad.

According to court documents, between April 2022 and June 2023, 30-year-old Valentin Quintana of Winona used social media apps, including Snapchat and Instagram, to threaten, sexually manipulate, and exploit more than 60 young girls primarily between 9 and 12 years old in Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Texas, New Zealand and elsewhere.

Quintana, who knew that most of the girls were between 9 and 12 years of age, used fake identities and lied about his age in communications with the girls, posing as a minor girl himself. He used images and videos of youthful appearing girls to make his communications with other victims more believable.

According to court documents, Quintana used a wide range of tactics to coerce his victims, sometimes by convincing young girls that he was their friend or romantic partner, or by offering them money. But most frequently, he convinced young girls to send him a sexual photo or video or covertly recorded them engaging in sexually explicit conduct and then threatened to send the first image to their friends and family unless the girls produced ever more graphic sexual images and videos for him. He continued this type of sextortion even as his victims wept and begged him to stop.

The indictment charges Quintana with thirteen counts of production of child pornography, one count of distribution of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography.

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To date, more than 60 minor girls have been identified, although law enforcement believes there may be additional victims. Anyone who believes they may have information about this matter is encouraged to contact Homeland Security Investigations through the toll-free tip line at 1-866-347-2423.

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