RICHMOND, Va. -- A Richmond man pled guilty to the production of child sexual abuse material on Friday.
According to court documents, around February 2019, Joshua Hitchener, 34, began exchanging messages on the Kik Messenger app with a 15-year-old girl. Hitchener convinced the teenager to send him nude pictures of herself.
He then used the possession of these images to threaten and blackmail his victim into creating and sending additional pornographic images and videos to him.
Hitchener's threats included telling the girl that he would kidnap her, kill her family and "rape and beat [the victim] several times a day.” Hitchener also told the 15-year-old victim to "brand" herself by drawing his screen name on parts of her body and to record herself performing sexual acts and to send those images and videos to him.
Hitchener is scheduled to be sentenced on July 21. He faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison.
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