PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — A man was sentenced to federal prison Friday for using social media to stalk and coerce three Canadian children into producing and sharing sexually explicit photos and videos of themselves, the Oregon US Attorney’s Office announced Friday.
Kevin Robert McCarty, 37, of Happy Valley, will serve 20 years in federal prison and five years’ supervised release.
Court documents state that in September 2021, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents in Portland and Vancouver, Canada began investigating McCarty for exploiting young children online. Beginning in July 2020 and continuing until November 2021, McCarty, who went by the alias “Robbie MacKenzie” online, used social media platforms to coerce the children into producing and sending him the sexually explicit material, authorities say.
If McCarty demanded more and the children refused, he threatened to send the content he’d already obtained to their friends and families, which he did on several occasions, authorities say. There were also a few times where McCarty told them they could either comply with his demands or commit suicide, authorities say.
In November 2021, McCarty was charged with sexually exploiting children, distributing child pornography, cyberstalking, enticing a child online, and transferring obscene material to a minor. Two days later, HSI agents served a search warrant at McCarty’s home in Happy Valley. He was ultimately arrested while visiting a cousin in Riverside, California.
On February 15, 2023, McCarty pleaded guilty to enticing a minor online and sexually exploiting children.
This case was investigated by HSI with assistance from the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
