Toronto-area man charged with child pornography, extortion in United States

(Pexels)

A Toronto-area man is facing child pornography and extortion charges in the United States and could be sentenced to at least 15 years in prison if convicted of all charges.

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, a 32-year-old from Vaughan allegedly “persuaded, induced and coerced five minor victims” in Maryland, Oklahoma, Wisconsin, Washington and New York to engage in “explicit conduct.” The purpose of this, officials allege, was for producing child pornography and extorting victims by “threatening to injure their reputation.”

Officials say the incidents took place between June 2014 and June 2016.

Muhammad Luqman Rana was charged with five counts of production of child pornography and five counts of extortion by threat to injure the reputation of another in December 2019. Court documents regarding the case were sealed until today, the department of justice said.

“If convicted of all counts, Rana faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum of 160 years in federal prison,” officials said in a news release issued Thursday.

The charges against Rana have not been proven in court.

The investigation is being conducted jointly by the FBI and Toronto Police Services.

According to the department of justice, authorities worked with law enforcement partners in Canada to get Rana extradited to the United States.