(WTAQ-WLUK) — A man from Colorado allegedly used online platforms to groom, exploit and extort children from the Fox Valley.
Chandan Bhangale, 29, was indicted last week on two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of minors and one count of cyberstalking.
According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, Bhangale was a graduate student studying computer science at Colorado State University. He is originally from India and is legally present in the United States via a student visa.
Officials say Bhangale utilized social media applications and online messaging platforms to target minors. Court records show Bhangale would gain the victims’ trust and collect personal information about them, then coerce the minors to produce child sexual abuse material and blackmail them to comply with his demands.
Bhangale convinced the underage victims that if they did not comply with his demands, there would be serious consequences, ranging from public disclosure of their explicit videos to death or serious bodily harm to the victims or their immediate family members. Through his manipulation, Bhangale coerced the victims to engage in self-harm, cut their own hair and produce and transmit CSAM.
If convicted of either count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, Bhangale faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and a maximum sentence of 30 years. He also faces up to five years in prison if convicted of cyberstalking.
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