PORTLAND, Ore.—Juan Carlos Ramon, 33, of Portland, pleaded guilty today to two counts of production of child pornography after sexually exploiting two minor victims, aged six and eight, using musical.ly, a social media application now known as TikTok.
According to court documents, on or about June 28, 2017, Ramon began communicating with two minors using the musical.ly app. He used the screen name “@lexithetiger” and pretended to be a minor female. Ramon encouraged his victims to play a “Simon Says” type game where he would send sexually explicit photos of a minor female and ask his victims to take and send him photos imitating the positions and acts depicted. The minor victims agreed and sent Ramon a series of progressively more explicit self-produced images. A relative of the two victims later discovered the communications and reported it to law enforcement.
Each count of production of child pornography carries a maximum sentence of 30 years in prison with a 15-year mandatory minimum, a $250,000 fine, a $5,000 special assessment and a life term of supervised release with a five-year mandatory minimum. Ramon will be sentenced on September 5, 2019 before U.S. District Court Judge Robert E. Jones.
