AUSTIN MAN SENTENCED TO MORE THAN 24 YEARS IN FEDERAL PRISON FOR SEXUALLY EXPLOITING AND EXTORTING JUVENILE BOYS ONLINE

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A 21-year-old Austin man has been sentenced to 292 months, or 24 years and four months, in federal prison for sexually exploiting juvenile boys through a scheme involving fabricated social media identities, coercion, and financial extortion. Tre Von Lamount Harris used multiple online platforms to solicit child sexual abuse material (CSAM) from minors before threatening to distribute the material unless victims paid him, according to a November 5, 2026, announcement by U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons for the Western District of Texas.

According to federal court documents, Harris began exploiting minors when he was approximately 16 years old. He created fraudulent social media accounts portraying himself as a teenage girl named “Michelle” and used those identities to communicate with juvenile male victims. His activities involved Facebook, X, Instagram, Snapchat, and TikTok, along with Cash App, which prosecutors identified as part of the financial component of his criminal conduct.

While communicating under the fictitious identity, Harris persuaded minors to produce and transmit sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. The victims believed they were interacting with a teenage girl, allowing Harris to manipulate their trust and obtain material that he later used against them. Federal prosecutors established that his online communications were designed to induce the production of illegal sexual abuse material for his possession and financial exploitation.

After obtaining the images and videos, Harris threatened to distribute them publicly or send them directly to victims’ relatives and friends unless they provided money. These threats formed the basis of a sextortion scheme in which the fear of exposure was used to coerce payments. According to court documents, Harris followed through on some of those threats by distributing victims’ explicit material, causing additional harm beyond the initial exploitation.

Harris had previously come to the attention of local law enforcement. On May 31, 2022, the Travis County Sheriff’s Office arrested him on two counts of sexual assault and one count involving the publication or threatened publication of invasive visual recordings. Those charges concerned similar conduct involving another fictitious online identity, “Karla.” Following that arrest, a Travis County judge released Harris on a $5,000 cash bond, removed a GPS monitoring condition that had initially been imposed, and permitted him to continue attending high school.

Beginning in December 2022, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received multiple CyberTipline reports from social media companies and private individuals identifying suspected child sexual abuse material associated with online usernames connected to Harris. The reports provided additional information concerning his activities and became part of the evidence reviewed during the federal investigation.

The FBI became aware of the NCMEC complaints in May 2023 and launched an extensive investigation into Harris’s online conduct. The investigation included interviews with multiple victims to establish the nature and scope of the exploitation. The investigation ultimately led to Harris’s arrest on federal charges on May 21, 2024, while he was attending high school.

Federal prosecutors emphasized that Harris continued engaging in the exploitation scheme despite his earlier arrest on state charges. The Justice Department’s announcement did not specify the total number of victims or the amount of money obtained through the extortion.

U.S. Attorney Simmons described the case as a warning about the risks children face when communicating with individuals whose online identities cannot be verified. He emphasized the importance of parental awareness and involvement in children’s internet activities, noting that information provided by parents contributed to the investigation. The prosecution also demonstrated how offenders can exploit the anonymity of social media to gain victims’ trust before using sensitive material as leverage.

FBI San Antonio Special Agent in Charge Daniel Faith stated that the sentence reflects the seriousness of the harm inflicted on the victims and the consequences of using online platforms to sexually exploit children. He also emphasized the bureau’s continuing commitment to investigating sextortion offenses and identifying individuals who attempt to conceal their identities while targeting minors.

The FBI conducted the federal investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew Devlin prosecuted the case on behalf of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Justice Department initiative established in May 2006 to combat the sexual exploitation and abuse of children. The program coordinates federal, state, and local law enforcement resources to investigate online exploitation, prosecute offenders, identify victims, and assist in protecting children from further abuse. It is led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, including its Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.

Harris’s sentencing underscores the serious consequences of online sextortion involving minors, particularly when offenders obtain sexually explicit material through deception and use threats of exposure to demand money. The investigation demonstrates the importance of CyberTipline reporting, victim cooperation, and federal law enforcement efforts to identify offenders who exploit children through social media platforms.

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