Las Vegas Man Charged with Blackmailing Child into Producing Child Pornography

HONOLULU — This is an official press release from the U.S. Department of Justice (USAO - Hawaii), published as received.

HONOLULU – United States Attorney Ken Sorenson announced that Al Justin Carter, 24, of Las Vegas, Nevada, was indicted on October 15, 2026, with Coercion and Enticement of a Minor.  Before being indicted, Carter was also charged by criminal complaint and arrested on October 14, 2026.  Carter is scheduled to appear for a detention hearing on October 20, 2026.  

According to the unsealed criminal complaint and other court records, on December 16, 2024, Carter persuaded and coerced a minor victim, who lived in Hawaii and was 13 years old at the time, to make a sexually explicit video of herself and send that video to Carter over the internet.  Carter told the minor victim that if she did not send him the sexually explicit video, he would make public other sexually explicit videos Carter had in his possession that featured the minor victim.  

If convicted, Carter faces up to life in prison, a $250,000 fine, plus a term of supervised release.

The charge in the indictment and criminal complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law.  In the case of conviction, any sentence would be imposed by a United States District Judge based on the statutory sentencing factors and the advisory United States Sentencing Guidelines.

The FBI is investigating the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Nammar is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.