Downey Man Arrested on Federal Complaint Alleging He Groomed Girls into Producing Sexually Explicit Videos that Featured Self-Harm

A Downey man has been arrested on a federal criminal complaint charging him with coercing, inducing, and enticing minor girls to create and send him sexually explicit videos – one of them he groomed to film herself engage in self-harm and self-humiliation, images he shared with others online, the Justice Department announced today.

Bryant Najera Gonzalez, 24, is charged with production of child pornography. He was arrested on Thursday morning and made his initial appearance late Thursday afternoon in United States District Court in downtown Los Angeles. A federal magistrate judge ordered Gonzalez jailed without bond. Gonzalez did not enter a plea, and his arraignment is scheduled for March 10.

“The complaint affidavit outlines disturbing behavior that is every parent’s nightmare,” said First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli. “To the individuals targeting children with sick acts as part of a twisted ideology, you’ve been warned: Your future is a lengthy federal prison sentence.”

“Nihilistic violent extremism targeting children is on the rise domestically and internationally,” said Akil Davis, the Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office. “The arrest of Mr. Gonzalez this morning in our backyard is just the latest example of the growing nature of this perverse activity that encourages children toward sexual compromise and self-mutilation, then further victimizes them with extortion demands.”

Read more: Department of Justice