INDIANAPOLIS —Investigators are trying to identify hundreds of potential victims whose images were found on the computer of an Indiana man charged with coercing two teenage boys into performing online sex acts for him by threatening to post on gay-porn sites compromising videos he secretly made of them.
U.S. Attorney Joe Hogsett said during a Monday news conference that the “sextortion” case against Richard Leon Finkbiner could become the largest of its kind in the U.S.
Finkbiner, 39, was arrested Friday at his home in the Clay County community of Brazil and faces two preliminary counts of sexually exploiting a child. He remained in custody Monday and has a detention hearing set for Wednesday.
During questioning by FBI agents, Finkbiner estimated that he had coerced at least 100 young people into making explicit videos, according to documents filed in U.S. District Court in Terre Haute, Ind. Hogsett said investigators found “thousands” of explicit images on Finkbiner’s hard drive, mostly of teenage boys.
“We are fearful that it could involve hundreds of individuals not just here in Indiana but across the country,” Hogsett said.
Authorities released a mug shot of him Monday, hoping other potential victims will come forward.
Officials did not say whether they suspect Finkbiner shared the images with anyone else. They did say there are websites that offer advice on how to sexually extort others and where images can be posted.
Finkbiner owns Clay County Internet in Brazil, Ind., which provides website hosting and other computer-related services.
