LI Man Tricked Girls Into Sending Explicit Photos: Prosecutors

A Long Island man was arraigned in federal court on Friday on charges that he used Facebook to solicit preteen girls to send naked pictures of themselves and, in at least one case, an even younger minor.

According to the complaint filed in federal court, Edgardo Mejia, 35, a Salvadoran national living in Uniondale, used a fake photograph of a boy to pose as a 12-year-old on Facebook in order to befriend young girls and convince them to send him pictures of themselves. He also went by the names Eddie Mejia, Eddie Reyes, Carlos Reyez and Bryan Gonzalez.

The complaint says that, in December, Facebook sent several tips to the National Center For Missing Children regarding three accounts, which it says were all operated by Mejia. Officials say that Mejia used the accounts to convince young girls to send him explicit pictures of themselves, and in some cases even younger girls. In one case, prosecutors allege he convinced a 12-year-old girl in Indiana to send him explicit pictures of herself, as well as her 2-year-old niece.

According to officials, Mejia convinced 15 girls to send him explicit pictures of themselves.

When officers arrested Mejia, they say he admitted that the phone they found on his person was his, and that he used it to talk to minors online. Officials say there was more child pornography found on his phone.

If convicted, Mejia faces a minimum of 15 years in jail, and a maximum of 30.

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