KANSAS CITY, Mo. — A 22-year-old man is accused of trying to coerce a 16-year-old girl into having sex with him; and according to prosecutors, if she refused, he told her he’d post nude photos of her online.
The alleged victim told her mother about the threats and they went to the police.
The girl said she began texting Denis Aguilar, who she says repeatedly asked for nude pictures. She says she finally sent him one, thinking when he had it, he would ‘back off’. She said after she sent the photo, she stopped talking to him on social media sites, where he allegedly claimed to be 18-years old.
When she wouldn’t respond to his continuous messages, the girl says he became angry with her and allegedly threatened to post her photo if she didn’t send another nude photo. She then says she sent him a topless photo.
She says he then began threatening that if she didn’t have sex with him, he’d publicly post the pictures.
After the girl and her mother went to police, a detective continued to communicate with the suspect’s online profile. Prosecutors say even though Aguilar was told in online communications that the girl was 14 years old, he still wanted to have sex with her and also told her to invite a friend so all three could engage in sex together.
The detective posing as the victim agreed to meet Aguilar at 6830 N.W. 83rd Terr., a McDonalds restaurant on June 25.
“We turned the danger of the Internet against this man. The anonymity of the Internet actually ended up working against this man where he was trying to use it to prey on others,” said Eric Zahnd, the Platte County prosecuting attorney.
Aguilar was arrested then. He’s being held on a $50,000 cash bond.
Zahnd believes Aguilar tried the same coercion on other girls, and asks anyone with information to come forward.
“We have received some information that this defendant may have attempted to extort sex from other victims. If you or someone you know has been coerced into having sex with this defendant or any other person, call the TIPS Hotline. The TIPS Hotline number is (816) 474-TIPS,” said Zahnd. “I believe that sextortion, trying to coerce nude pictures form somebody is really an epidemic. My guess is that the vast majority of cases go unreported.”