'Prolific' Nevada Sextortionist Behind Bars After Targeting Over 100 Minors Using TikTok, Snapchat: Officials

A Nevada man was sentenced to 65 years in prison for "sextorting" minors, but authorities say they have yet to identify many of the more than 100 children he is believed to have victimized.

James Patrick Burns, 55, of Sparks, was convicted by a jury in March of eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, eight counts of coercion and enticement of a minor, and one count each of advertising, receiving, distributing, and possessing child pornography.

He was also already a registered sex offender during the commission of his crimes, and was convicted of additional felony counts related to registering as a sex offender.

Between 2018 and 2021, Burns used Omegle, Snapchat, TikTok, and Mega to threaten minors into producing sexually explicit images, known as "sextortion," or sexual extortion, then shared that material on dark web forums.

"During this period, Burns was the most prolific creator of illegal content on these forums," the U.S. Department of Justice said in a news release.

Authorities were alerted to his activities when the mother of one of the victims saw threats on the victim's phone and reported them to police.

The case was investigated by the Northern Nevada Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is led by the FBI and includes detectives from the Sparks Police Department, Washoe County Sheriff’s Office, Nevada Attorney General’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations.

Authorities said that Burns had more than 100 victims, "many" of whom have not yet been identified.

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Burns was sentenced to 65 years in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release, and ordered to pay $82,655.92 in restitution and $21,000 in assessments under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act.

TMX contributed to this report.