A man is facing multiple charges after he allegedly sextorted two Oakland County teens on social media.
Anthony Lamont Fowlkes, a 40-year-old Massachusetts man, is facing federal charges of sexual exploitation of a child and attempt, distribution and receipt of child pornography and attempt, possession of child pornography, transfer of obscene matter to a minor and interstate threats with intent to extort.
In a federal criminal complaint unsealed on Sept. 11, a special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) said the investigation began in August when Waterford police informed the HSI Detroit Special Victims Group about a suspect, later identified as Fowlkes, allegedly sexually extorting and coercing a 15-year-old and 16-year-old girl from Waterford Township.
The two teens told Waterford police that Fowlkes asked for nude photos, even knowing how old they were. They tried to end their contact with Fowlkes, but reported that he threatened to post the teens’ nude images on social media sites if they stopped communicating with him and sending him more nude photos.
The 15-year-old said she met Fowlkes in July on The Monkey App, a social media and live video chatroom where people can livestream with random strangers online. On the app, she and Fowlkes exchanged phone numbers and moved the conversation through text.
On July 15, the 15-year-old girl sent Fowlkes a photo of herself and the 16-year-old girl. He then asked the 15-year-old to give the 16-year-old his number and text him.
In the online chats between Fowlkes and the two girls, federal authorities said Fowlkes coerced the teens into sending sexually explicit and intimate images of themselves to him. He allegedly sent audio messages and about four sexually explicit images of himself to the teens, as well.
In a group chat found on the 15-year-old girl’s phone with her, the 16-year-old and Fowlkes, the man allegedly encouraged the girls to live with him in the New England area.
Federal officials said Fowlkes appeared to have been grooming the two teens into a “dominant and submissive” relationship. After several weeks of texting, the 16-year-old girl refused to “submit” to Fowlkes during a conversation, which led to an argument. The 16-year-old girl blocked Fowlkes on her phone and stopped communicating with him.
“Every insult you have for me results in me posting more,” Fowlkes allegedly said during an argument with the 16-year-old regarding threatening to post images on social media.
Fowlkes then allegedly continued to demand sexually explicit photos from the 15-year-old. According to the criminal complaint, Fowlkes used the 15-year-old to get the 16-year-old to unblock him by threatening to post nude images of both of the teens on social media sites.
The two teens reported Fowlkes to police on Aug. 1. Investigators were able to identify Fowlkes through the phone number used to communicate with the girls.
There could be more victims
The special agent with HSI in the criminal complaint reached out to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) and learned there have been a total of five cybertips associated with Fowlkes’ personal information obtained in the investigation.
Within the cybertips, the criminal complaint noted that Fowlkes allegedly asked for nude photos from multiple children aged 15 to 17.
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