MADISON, WIS. – A federal grand jury has returned an indictment charging a Las Vegas, Nevada man with producing child pornography, extortion and threats via interstate communications, and stalking. David Ohmar Harris, 25, was charged in a sealed indictment on August 2, 2018. Scott C. Blader, United States Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, and Homeland Security Investigations’ Special Agent in Charge James M. Gibbons announced the indictment.
The indictment was unsealed after Harris was arrested in Las Vegas, Nevada, on August 8, 2018. He made an initial appearance in federal court in Las Vegas that day. Harris was ordered held in federal custody and is being transferred to the Western District of Wisconsin. No date has been set for his appearance in Wisconsin.
The indictment charges Harris with two counts of producing child pornography in December 2016 and June 2018, involving a minor in Wisconsin. The indictment also alleges that on June 11, 2018, Harris threatened to injure the reputation of an individual with the intent to extort a thing of value, and that between December 2016 and June 2018, Harris used Facebook and Kik to harass, intimidate, and cause substantial emotional distress to the individual.
The investigation to date has revealed that Harris may have used Kik and Facebook to victimize up to 500 teenage girls throughout the United States and internationally since 2012. His user names on these platforms included Zero, Bowromes, Akito, Lelouch, and Kami.
If you think that you or someone you know may have been a victim of someone communicating through these user names, law enforcement asks that you contact them, either by phone at 608-224-9345 or by email at report@doj.state.wi.us. Please provide your contact information and someone from the Wisconsin Department of Justice or the U.S. Department of Homeland Security will contact you to obtain more information.
U.S. Attorney Blader said, “I urge anyone who is being asked to share explicit images, or being threatened by someone to whom you have provided such images, to make a report to law enforcement. My office will continue to make the prosecution of this type of predatory behavior against children a priority.”
“We strongly urge any victim who may have been a victim of someone using usernames Zero, Bowromes, Akito, Lelouch, and Kami on Facebook or Kik to please contact law enforcement,” said Attorney General Brad Schimel. “No matter where you are from, services are available for you, and our Office of Crime Victim Services stands ready to support you.”
“HSI will work tirelessly with the U.S. Attorney’s Office to investigate, arrest and prosecute sexual predators who prey on the vulnerabilities of minor victims,” said James M. Gibbons, special agent in charge of HSI Chicago, the HSI office that oversees Wisconsin. “This case should also serve as a reminder to all that online predators are always searching for new victims.”
If convicted, Harris faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in federal prison on each production of child pornography charge, two years on the extortion charge, and five years on the stalking charge.
The charges against Harris are the result of an investigation by the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, with the assistance of the North Las Vegas and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Departments, and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Nevada. The prosecution of this case is being handled by Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Altman and Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Chadwick Elgersma.
You are advised that a charge is merely an accusation and that a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty.
Last Update: Sep 06, 2018 7:32 am CDT
