Colo. Man Who Lured Minors Nationwide on Social Media Platforms Gets 84 Years in Prison By Christina Coulter

A Colorado man who ran a massive online child exploitation operation that ensnared dozens of minors nationwide — in “nearly every state and at least five foreign countries” — has been sentenced to 84 years in federal prison, according to the Department of Justice.

Austin Ryan Lauless, 31, was sentenced in the Southern District of Indiana to 84 years behind bars, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, the DOJ said in a Dec. 17 press release.

In September, Lauless pleaded guilty to 13 counts of sexual exploitation of a child, five counts of sex trafficking of a minor, two counts of advertising child sexual abuse material and possession of child sexual abuse material, per the release.

Between late 2019 and May 2023, Lauless used social media platforms — including Instagram, Snapchat, Discord, Yubo and Purp — to coerce, exploit, and threaten at least 84 teenagers into producing thousands of sexually explicit images and videos, court documents referenced in the release state. The victims ranged in age from 13 to 17 at the time of the offenses.

Lauless allegedly lured the teens by pretending to be “Cason Frederickson,” a teen from New York or other major cities. He hacked into an Instagram account — owned by a person referred to in the release as “Individual A” — to steal their photos and videos, then used voice modulators and other technology to make pre-recorded content from the persona appear live. 

In reality, Lauless was in his twenties, unemployed and living out of hotels and motels in Texas and Colorado, per the agency.

He feigned romantic interest and built relationships with his teen victims over time, per the DOJ, then convinced them to film sexually explicit content. He purchased and sent gifts — like sex toys, fishnet stockings and customized T-shirts — for his victims to wear in those videos, per the agency.

To maintain control and prolong the exploitation, Lauless threatened victims with the release of their images and videos if they failed to comply with his demands or sought help, according to court documents. At least one victim told Lauless she was considering suicide, the DOJ said.

Want to keep up with the latest crime coverage? Sign up for  PEOPLE‘s free True Crime newsletter for breaking crime news, ongoing trial coverage and details of intriguing unsolved cases.

Prosecutors also said Lauless trafficked five minor victims by forcing them to have sex with adult males, creating videos of those encounters. Some victims were subjected to sadomasochistic abuse at Lauless’ direction, according to the release.

After obtaining images and videos, Lauless advertised and sold the material through Discord, Instagram, Telegram, and MEGA, engaging in at least 141 financial transactions, prosecutors said. Payments were made through Venmo, PayPal, Bitcoin, and CashApp, according to the DOJ.

Lauless admitted that his collection included thousands of images and videos depicting prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit content, as well as material involving sadomasochism, bestiality and other extreme abuse, the release states.

“The sheer scale of this investigation and prosecution underscores the relentless commitment of federal law enforcement to dismantle networks of exploitation that prey on our children,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney John Childress said in a statement included in the release. “Austin Lauless orchestrated a campaign of abuse that spanned nearly every state and multiple countries, leaving behind profound harm.”

As of Dec. 17, investigators have identified 84 victims from nearly every U.S. state and at least five foreign countries — but prosecutors said additional victims may still be unidentified.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI with assistance from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. The sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Sarah Evans Barker, according to the DOJ.

Anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Lauless, who also used other online aliases, is urged to contact the FBI, the release states.