US man pleads not guilty to sexually exploiting young people via Instagram

A 23-year-old man pleaded not guilty May 6 to three counts of child sexual abuse for sexually exploiting two Billings teenagers via Instagram.

Freddie Betances was arraigned in Yellowstone County District Court. The exploitation took place “remotely,” a prosecutor from the district attorney’s office said in court. Betances was extradited to Billings from Pennsylvania.

According to charging documents, Betances and a 15-year-old Billings teenager began communicating in November. Betances instructed the teen to have sexual encounters with other men, record the encounters and then send him the photos and videos. She complied with these requests.

Betances paid for the premium dating app Bumble and created a profile for the teenager. He and the teenager used the app to find sexual partners for them. Betances also told them to demand money and marijuana as payment. Payments were forwarded to Betances’ PayPal account.

When the teen failed to sneak out of her house to meet men, Betances ordered her to send him “45 minutes’ worth” of sexual material before he would call and “praise” her, according to court documents.

Betances then began messaging the 15-year-old’s 17-year-old friend on Instagram and threatened to leak the 15-year-old’s nude photos if she didn’t send him explicit photos of herself. She reported that she only believed the news when she received explicit photos of the 15-year-old.

Betances’ bond was set at US$500,000 (RM2.37mil).

Parents, educators and lawmakers have been concerned with teen sexting for 15 years. In December 2008, the National Campaign to Prevent Teen and Unplanned Pregnancy and its research partners conducted a study called “Sex and Tech” that examined the role of technology in the sexual lives of teenagers and young adults.

Over 15 years and the inventions of Instagram, Tinder and TikTok (to name a few) later, the underlying problem remains – with more platforms and people. Widespread access to artificial intelligence has also played a role, with cases observed of teenagers using artificial intelligence to create “deepfake files” of their classmates.

Earlier this year, CEOs of Meta, TikTok, said

Although Montana schools are expected to educate students about the dangers of drugs, new laws passed in recent years indicate that lawmakers don’t want students to be educated about “human sexuality” in schools become.

In 2021, a law was passed requiring schools to notify parents 48 hours before any “classes on human sexuality.” 65 Republican lawmakers were in favor and 2 Republicans and 29 Democrats were against it. The bill defines “instruction in human sexuality” as “teaching or otherwise providing information about human sexuality, including intimate relationships, human sexual anatomy, sexual reproduction, sexually transmitted infections, sexual acts, sexual orientation, gender identity, abstinence, contraception, or reproductive rights.” “and responsibilities.”

A lawsuit filed last month against the law by the American Civil Liberties Union of Montana, along with plaintiffs including the Montana School Counselors Association and the Montana Association of School Psychologists, argues that it “impairs and inhibits sex education in Montana public schools.” . – Billings Gazette/Tribune News Service