Two Men in Pakistan Confess to Sextortion of NNY Teen
By Ben Muir
Watertown: The two men in Pakistan who were arrested after allegedly extorting a teenager from St. Lawrence County admitted their guilt to authorities, according to reports in Asia.
Shylynn M. Dixon was an 18-year-old from Lisbon who died by suicide in March 2021 after having been sextorted online. She developed a relationship with a Facebook user posing as someone else. She sent nude photographs to the Facebook user, who then threatened to share the photos publicly if she didn't send money.
After a yearlong investigation by New York State Police, US Homeland Security, the FBI and the Federal Investigation Agency in Pakistan, Muhammed Arslan Saeed and Kamal Anwar were arrested for allegedly carrying out the sextortion of Ms Dixon.
ANI News Service reports that after the FIA in Pakistan made the arrests, according to documents filed by the agency's cyber crimes unit, "both accused confessed their guilt and stated that they did this illegal act purposefully with the active connivance of each other."
Now the case is largely on Pakistan to see through. The two men will be prosecuted there, but the United States may help if needed.
Lisa M. Fletcher, assistant US attorney for the Northern District of New York in Syracuse, is working with the FBI to help facilitate the transfer of documents Pakistan authorities might need for their prosecution.
Ms Fletcher, who is known for her prosecution of sex crimes and child pornography offenses, said her understanding is that the trial process in Pakistan can take a long time. - Watertown Daily Times, NY.
