NORFOLK, Va. – A Canadian man was sentenced to 40 years in prison Thursday for his role in orchestrating an online sextortion scheme and producing images of child sexual abuse.
According to court documents, 36-year-old Marco Viscomi, was first identified by the Virginia Beach Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in 2012.
In January 2012, a father of two girls, then ages 13 and 17-years-old, reported to VBPD that his daughters had been sexually extorted by someone they met online.
Documents say the person online threatened the girls and forced the sisters to engage in sexually explicit conduct while he watched online from Canada. The VBPD and HSI traced the culprit to Ontario and identified Viscomi as the person responsible. Officials say he was a 26-year-old medical student at that time.
“After nearly a decade, this case is finally coming to a close because of the relentless work of law enforcement,” said Raymond Villanueva, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations Washington, D.C. “Viscomi manipulated young victims into engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and then, once identified, fought tirelessly to avoid facing charges for his actions. Today, justice was served, and another child predator is behind bars.”
Additional investigation uncovered Viscomi had engaged in similar sextortion conduct with hundreds of other victims, but not all victims were able to be identified. HSI was able to identify and locate over 70 such minors, including several sets of sisters.
In July 2012, he was charged in federal court in the Eastern District of Virginia and arrested in Canada. In December 2019, the Canadian courts ordered him to be extradited to Norfolk to face the charges.
Related: Canadian man brought to Hampton Roads to face sex crimes against children charges
