Atascosa man sentenced in scheme to extort teens for explicit acts, images

SAN ANTONIO (KTSA News) — A 23-year-old Atascosa man was sentenced Tuesday to nearly three decades in prison for coercing minors to perform sexual acts.

Federal prosecutors said Felipe Duron in early 2019 used internet-enabled devices to get multiple minors — who were 13 or 14 years old — to send him nude photos while they were engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Duron then used those photos to extort these minors, saying he would send them to their family and friends if they did not send him more of these images.  Additionally, he required these teens to go into video chat rooms where they were coerced to perform sexual acts for adult men as Duron watched.

“Thanks to the efforts of our law enforcement partners and the prosecutor in this case, the defendant will no longer be able to commit such unspeakable acts against children,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley Hoff.  “Today’s sentence reflects the seriousness of the defendant’s despicable conduct and shines a light on the strength of a 14-year-old victim who had the courage to report the defendant’s actions.  I commend the social media platform and National Center for Missing and Exploited Children for bringing this matter to the attention of law enforcement.”

Duron pleaded guilty in July 2020 to one count of coercion and enticement of a child, a count of child pornography production, a count of receiving child pornography, and one count of extortion.

He was sentenced Tuesday to 29 years in federal prison followed by 11 years of supervised release.