Broward Man Sentenced To 15 Years In Federal Prison For Production Of Child Pornography

MIAMI (CBSMiami) - A Broward County man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison followed by 25 years of supervised release for enticing and coercing young girls, as young as 13-years-old, into producing and transmitting sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves.

According to court records, Steven Dexter Gangoo, 20, contacted his victims on social media.

Feds say Gangoo's tactics included befriending the girls on social media, where he would tell them they were pretty and then he would have the girls send him suggestive photographs of themselves.

Once the victims sent the requested images and or videos, feds say Gangoo would extort them by using initial images and videos as leverage to gain compliance into taking and sending additional nude photographs, in poses that he selected.

"If the victims refused to comply with his demands, he would threaten the victims by sharing their nude images and videos with their family and friends. As the chats progressed, the demands became more sexually explicit. When one of his victims stopped communicating with Gangoo, he did just that. He sent nude pictures of the minor to her school friends, whom he identified through the victim's social media contacts," authorities said.

Police got involved after one of Gangoo's victims told her parents about Gangoo's demands.

Shortly after that, Gangoo was located in Broward County and subsequently arrested.

Legal documents show that Gangoo pled guilty to producing child pornography on January 11, 2022.

Authorities said that Gangoo was actively trading child sex abuse material with other like-minded subjects using various online social media platforms.

Police would like parents to chat with their minor children about the possible dangers of social media.