2 plead guilty to attempting to manufacture child porn

Stock photo

BAY CITY, MI (WNEM) -

Two Mid-Michigan men pleaded guilty to attempting to manufacture child pornography.

The pleas were unrelated and announced in federal court in Bay City on Tuesday.

Nathan Bowling, 31, of Farwell pleaded guilty to offering to purchase a cell phone for an individual he thought was a 17-year-old female in the Philippines if she showed her genitals for him on Skype, the United States Attorney's Office said.

That incident happened on Oct. 7, 2016.

Derek Chapman, 21, of Harrison pleaded guilty to attempting to extort a 14-year-old female he met on an instant messaging app to send him nude photos, the attorney's office said.

That incident happened in late December 2015 or early January 2016.

"Chapman coerced the victim, who suffered from depression, into sending him a photograph of an image of her thigh after she cut herself. He then threatened to contact Child Protective Services and told her that Child Protective Services would take her away from her parents unless she sent him nude images," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release.

Bowling and Chapman both face a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, but could serve up to 19 years.

"It is important that victims report to police when online predators exploit or attempt to exploit them," Acting U.S. Attorney Daniel Lemisch said. "Parents should tell their children they should never be too ashamed to tell them when they need help."

Let's block ads! (Why?)