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Read the press release here.

Chicago Man Used Facebook To Find Kids For Sex, Porn, Prosecutors Say

By Ed Komenda | February 9, 2017 6:16pm
 Bryan Osborne, 27, posed as “Lonyae Johnson” on Facebook, according to authorities.
Bryan Osborne, 27, posed as “Lonyae Johnson” on Facebook, according to authorities.
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CHICAGO — A Chicago man has landed in jail on federal sex-trafficking charges, accused of using Facebook to recruit children and young teens to participate in sex acts with him and others, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Bryan Osborne, 27, posed as “Lonyae Johnson” on Facebook to chat with more than 2,000 people, many of them minors, according to authorities.

Posing as Johnson, Osborne lured several children to appear in child pornography films, promising they would be paid thousands of dollars, according to a criminal complaint.

Osborne told the victims they would first need to have sex with a producer named “Trey” — to make sure the minors were suitable for filming, according to the charges. 

Osborne told some minors they could be paid more money if they referred even younger children to him to participate in child pornography, the complaint says.

Osborne even enticed some of his victims on Facebook to engage in prostitution with others he had recruited, according to the complaint.

Several agreed and met with Trey, who turned out to be Osborne, according to the complaint.  Osborne engaged in sex acts with the minors inside and outside a building in Chicago’s Austin neighborhood.

He refused to pay one of his victims and lied about why he did not pay them, the complaint states.

Osborne stands charged with one count of sex trafficking and one count of enticing a minor to engage in a sex act. If convicted, each count carries a minimum sentence of 10 years in prison and a maximum of life.

Osborne appeared Thursday afternoon before U.S. Magistrate Judge Michael T. Mason, who scheduled a detention hearing for Feb. 16 at 9 a.m.

If you believe you are a victim of sexual exploitation, you can call the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 1-800-843-5678.  The hotline is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week.