Pine City man, 26, pleads guilty to soliciting young girls to make child porn

MINNEAPOLIS -- A 26-year-old eastern Minnesota man has pleaded guilty to soliciting young girls to make child pornography, U.S. Attorney Andrew Luger announced Wednesday.

The U.S. Attorney's Office says Caleb Vincent McLaughlin, of Pine City, pleaded guilty to five counts of soliciting, producing, receiving and distributing images of child pornography, as well as enticing a child to engage in illegal sexual activity.

According to court documents, McLaughlin created and used multiple social media accounts and communications applications to solicit and direct at least 14 minor girls between the ages of 11 and 16 in Minnesota to create sexually explicit videos and images to send to him.

McLaughlin used a variety of aliases and Snapchat IDs including "Jake Benson," "Lift11," and "Tech4cm." He is also said to have sometimes lied about his age, saying he was 17 in order to prey on minor girls he met online.

Additionally, McLaughlin also offered the minors drugs, alcohol, cash and gift cards in exchange for sex acts.

A sentencing hearing is scheduled for McLaughlin on Feb. 13 next year.  

Investigators have identified many of his victims, but believe there are several more. Anyone who has been victimized by McLaughlin or knows of his victims is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or go to tips.fbi.gov.