Vernon Man Accused Of Illicit Online Sexual Activity With Minors

VERNON, CT — A Vernon man is accused of enticing minors to send — and even sell — him sexually explicit images after communicating with them on social media, a federal prosecutor said.

One charge could lead to a life sentence, she added.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, United States attorney for the District of Connecticut and Robert Fuller, special agent in charge of the New Haven Division of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said that 43-year-old Vernon resident Darryl Todd, was arrested Thursday and charged via a criminal complaint with child exploitation offenses.

Todd appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Thomas O. Farrish in Hartford after being taken into custody and was ordered detained pending a detention hearing scheduled for March 11.

Avery said an investigation by the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force revealed that Todd used the online platform Snapchat to communicate with "minor girls" and convince them to send him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves, often in return for money that Todd sent the victims using the mobile payment service Cash App.

Todd also sent sexually explicit images of himself to the minor victims, according to case records.

Todd was arrested Thursday morning after investigators and Vernon police executed a court-authorized search warrant at his residence and a preliminary review of his cellphone revealed sexually explicit images of minor females, Avery said.

The complaint charges Todd with transfer of obscene material to minors, an offense that carries a maximum prison of 10 years; receipt of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of five years and a maximum term of 20 years; and enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment for life.