A Texas deputy sheriff coerced a 12-year-old Massachusetts girl he met on the videogame Minecraft into sending him sexually explicit images of herself, according to prosecutors.
Pasquale T. Salas, 25, was arrested Wednesday and charged with cyberstalking a minor, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Salas initiated contact with the then 12-year-old girl in 2014 through the online videogame, the U.S. Attorney’s Office said. Salas then contacted her on other platforms and began soliciting sexually explicit images and videos from her.
Salas maintained contact with the girl for years by threatening to share the images with the girl’s family and friends, prosecutors said.
When the girl attempted to put an end to communications with Salas in May, he allegedly sent her threatening messages. He attempted to hide the source of those messages using web-based software.
Salas is a deputy sheriff with the Matagorda County Sheriff’s Office. The girl is from Worcester County.
Salas is scheduled to appear in federal court in Texas on Thursday and will appear in federal court in Worcester at a later date.
