Child Porn Case: Eagan Man Sentenced for Tricking Teens into Sending Nude Photos

MINNEAPOLIS, MN — United States Attorney Andrew Luger today announced the sentencing of Anton Alexander Martynenk, 33, to 38 years in prison after pleading guilty in January to federal child pornography charges. Martynenk was sentenced in U.S. District Court in Saint Paul.

According to Martynenk’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, between at least 2011 and 2015, he used social media to obtain homemade child pornography from unsuspecting boys, many of them teenagers.

Martynenk created and used various false aliases, including “Marie Anna,” “Courtney Jansgen,” and “Marie94mn,” on social media outlets for the purpose of obtaining nude and sexually explicit images and videos of minor males, according to authorities.

Martynenk created different cover stories, including that he (posing as a woman) had recently moved to Minnesota and was trying to make new friends, that he worked for a modeling agency, or that he was a college student at the University of Minnesota. Martynenk would engage in sexual conversations with victims and eventually ask for nude images and/or video of the minor male victims, according to authorities.

“This defendant exploited and extorted over 150 young people in a disturbingly manipulative scheme,” said Luger in a statement. “We hope the victims in this case take some solace in the sentence imposed today. I urge parents and teachers to help Minnesota youth protect themselves from online predators.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, in approximately 2012, Martynenk contacted a victim using a decoy social media account under the name “Marie Anna.” He claimed to be a woman who recently moved to Minnesota from Illinois who was looking to meet new people. Martynenk told the victim that he was handsome and quickly moved to suggesting they exchange nude photographs. Martynenk, using the moniker, “Marie Anna,” sent pictures to the victim of a nude female, according to authorities.

The victim then sent nude pictures of himself to “Marie Anna” via social media, according to authorities, according to a news release. Martynenk, still using the handle, “Marie Anna,” demanded more photos of the victim, but the victim stopped responding to the messages when he became suspicious. Martynenk then threatened to distribute the victim’s nude photographs if the victim did not send more. About one year later, the victim learned that his pictures were being distributed via social media.

“This case was the result of a collaboration between local, federal and state partners," Rosemount Police Chief Mitchell Scott said. "While there are no winners here, the lengthy prison sentence for Anton Martynenk provides some measure of justice for the many people he victimized over the years.”

According to the defendant’s guilty plea and documents filed in court, Martynenk also used decoy accounts to advertise child pornography over the internet.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.

Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

If you know of any child who may have been a victim of exploitation, please call the National Center for Missing or Exploited Children (NCMEC) at 1-800-THE-LOST (1-800-843-5678).

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Carol M. Kayser.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, Minneapolis Police Department, Rosemount Police Department, Eagan Police Department, Chaska Police Department, and Dakota County Electronic Crimes Task Force.

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