PITTSBURGH, PA – A former resident of Penn Hills, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty in federal court to charges of Coercion and Enticement of a Minor to Engage in Illegal Sexual Activity, Production of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, and Distribution of Material Depicting the Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.
Kuang Myat Kyaw (23), formerly of Pittsburgh, PA, pleaded guilty to seven counts before United States District Judge Robert J. Colville.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that Kyaw, during various periods between August 9, 2020 and September 2021, using a computer and the Internet, enticed and coerced five minor, female victims to produce photographs and videos depicting their sexual exploitation and engaging in sadistic sexual acts. Kyaw initially tricked the minors into providing him with photographs depicting themselves naked, and then used the threat of disseminating those images to their family and friends to extort, or attempt to extort, the minors to engage in what he referred to as a “seven-day challenge”, during which he would demand that they produce increasingly depraved sexual imagery.
Judge Colville scheduled sentencing for February 24, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. The law provides for a total sentence of not less than 15 years and up to life in prison, a fine of $1,750,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court ordered that Kyaw remain in custody.
Assistant United States Attorney Carolyn J. Bloch is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fairfax County, Virginia Police Department, the Wright County, Minnesota Sheriff’s Office, and other local police departments conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Kyaw.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.