A Gloucester man was arrested Wednesday in connection with allegations that he used threats to coerce a 13-year-old girl into sending him sexual photos and videos of herself over the course of four months last year, according to the Massachusetts U.S. Attorney’s Office.
Robert Burnham, 44, has been charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, the U.S. Attorney’s office said in a Thursday press release.
When Burnham met the 13-year-old girl on Snapchat in June 2024, he told her he was in the same grade as her in school. He later told her he had nude photos of her and would send them to her father — who he claimed to know personally — if she didn’t send him sexual photos and videos of herself, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
To bolster the threat, Burnham sent the girl a photo of her father’s Facebook account. Burnham instructed the girl to make an account on JusTalk — a Chinese messaging app, then continued their communications through the new app, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
“Over the course of four months, Burnham allegedly coerced the minor victim into creating and sending numerous sexually explicit videos and pictures,” the release reads. “It is alleged that Burnham would give the minor victim detailed instructions about what to do in each video or picture and, when she did not comply or respond right away, he would threaten her.”
At times, Burnham told the girl he was “going to put his f***ing hands on [her]” and threatened to rape her, the U.S. Attorney’s office said.
Burnham also tried to coerce other minors on Snapchat into sending him sexually explicit photos and videos by claiming he had nude images of them that he would send to their families if they did not do as he asked, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. Investigators identified conversations between Burnham and two other Snapchat users who told him they were 12 years old.
Burnham was arraigned in federal court in Boston on Wednesday and held pending a hearing scheduled for Sept. 8, the U.S. Attorney’s office said. He faces a minimum prison sentence of 15 years, five years to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000 if convicted on the charge.
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