Chicago Man Posed As Woman On Facebook To Lure Kids For Sex: Prosecutors

CHICAGO, IL — A Chicago man is accused of luring minors to have sex with him by posing as a woman on Facebook and falsely promising minors thousands of dollars to appear in porn films, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Illinois.

Bryan Osborne, 27, was charged Thursday with sex trafficking and enticing a minor to engage in a sex act. If convicted, each count carries a sentence of 10 years to life in prison. A detention hearing for Osborne is scheduled for Feb. 16.

According to prosecutors, Osborne allegedly used the name “Lonyae Johnson” on Facebook in order to contact more than 2,000 users on the social media platform, many of them minors. In this online guise, Osborne allegedly recruited several kids for porn films by promising to pay them thousands of dollars. But for that to happen, the children had to have sex with "Trey," a film producer that was actually another alias for Osborne, prosecutors said.

As "Trey," Osborne allegedly engaged in sex acts with several minors who agreed to the arrangement inside and outside of an Austin neighborhood building on the West Side, according to the criminal complaint. When it came time to pay the kids, however, prosecutors say Osborne made up different reasons why they wouldn't receive any money.

According to the criminal complaint, Osborne would ask some of the kids to refer even younger children to appear in the child porn, offering more money for those referrals. He also is accused of luring other minors into prostitution with other people he had recruited.

photo via Shutterstock

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