Jackson Man Indicted on Extortion and Child Pornography Offenses

Jackson, TN – A federal grand jury in Jackson, Tennessee recently returned an indictment charging a Jackson man with federal child exploitation offenses and extortion.  United States Attorney Kevin G. Ritz announced the return of the indictment today.

According to information presented in court, Peter Anthony Pappas, 40, has been indicted for using deception to manipulate several minors into providing him with confidential information which he used for fraudulent purposes.  Specifically, Pappas used the information to gain unauthorized access to online accounts belonging to the minor victims – including social media, cloud storage, and email accounts.  Pappas then used the information obtained from those accounts to both exploit the victims and to target new victims.  Pappas’s goal was to obtain sexually explicit images and/or videos from the victims, many of whom he knew were minor children.

Pappas is charged with four counts of distribution of child pornography, four counts of transferring obscene matter to a minor, two counts of attempted production of child pornography, two counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, one count of extortion by interstate communications, and one count of possessing child pornography.

If convicted on all counts, Pappas is facing a sentence of up to life in prison.  This case is pending before United States District Court Judge S. Thomas Anderson in Jackson, Tennessee.  If Pappas is convicted of the charges, Judge Anderson will determine the sentence to impose on the defendant after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.  There is no parole in the federal system.

This case is being investigated by the FBI Memphis Child Exploitation Task Force.  Anyone with additional information on this case is asked to contact Special Agent Eric McCraw at the FBI Memphis-Jackson Resident Agency.

The charges and allegations contained in the indictment are merely accusations of criminal conduct, not evidence. The defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt and convicted through due process of law.

Assistant United States Attorney Josh Morrow is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.

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For more information, please contact Tjuana Holmes at (901) 544-4231 or Tjuana.Holmes@usdoj.gov.  Follow the U.S. Attorney’s Office on Facebook or on Twitter at @WDTNNews for office news and updates.