Man posed as Justin Bieber online to extort nude photos from child

LOS ANGELES—A Massachusetts man was arrested on suspicion of soliciting nude photos from a 9-year-old California girl while posing online as Justin Bieber, authorities said Tuesday.

Bryan Asrary was taken into custody Dec. 18 near Boston and could face local charges including possession of child *advertiser censored*, Los Angeles County sheriff’s officials said. Asrary could also face multiple charges in California, officials said.
The victim is now 11. She told investigators she was viewing Bieber’s Instagram page when she received a message from another user who said he knew the pop star and could arrange a text meeting.

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The girl told authorities that in 2014, when she was only 9 years old, that she was viewing Justin Bieber's Instagram page when she received a direct message from another user. The suspect claimed to know Bieber and that he could arrange a text message exchange between the two.

The girl accepted the offer and was told to create an account on the social media app Kik. The victim then began communicating with someone she thought was Bieber.

Not long after starting their conversation, the suspect, who was posing as Bieber, demanded the girl send nude photos of herself, threatening her harm if she didn't comply.

The girl sent nude photos and a video, authorities said, and after sending them, she deleted the texts between the two and did not tell anyone about it.

Then in 2016, the suspect contacted the girl twice, threatening to publish the photos and video if she didn't send more photos and videos to him. She then told her mother about the incident, who called police.

Detectives then gathered information on the suspect from social media sites and identified him as 24-year-old Bryan Asrary, of Revere, Massachusetts. Evidence gathered from the sites revealed the sextortion attempts, authorities said.

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Asrary also faces multiple charges in California, including extortion, manufacturing child *advertiser censored* and communicating with a minor with the intent to commit a sexual act. If convicted of all possible charges, he faces several years in prison, authorities said.

Investigators are working to identify more victims, and the investigation is ongoing.

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