North Dakota man accused of enticing 13-year-old Washington County girl to send explicit videos
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) — Police say a North Dakota man has been arrested for enticing a 13-year-old girl from Peters Township to send sexually explicit videos of her sexually assaulting another child.
Police said Nicholas Nesdahl, 27, has been arrested and charged and the 13-year-old girl has also been arrested on sexual assault charges.
An investigation into the case started back in October when the mother of the teenager reported concerns to police after finding troubling videos on her daughter's cell phone.
Police said the 13-year-old engaged in various sexual acts with her 6-year-old stepsister and then sent the videos to Nesdahl.
Police said after receiving records from Snapchat, conversations between the 13-year-old girl and Nesdahl started last year when he would request videos from the girl, first of her performing sexual acts on herself. Then, authorities said he wanted and requested videos of both the teen and 6-year-old child together.
Police said the 13-year-old girl also kept a journal where she admitted to talking to several individuals on Snapchat. According to the affidavit, the girl told investigators that the people she's been talking to "filled her mind with rape and incest fantasies."
Peters Township police said that they tracked Nesdahl down through his IP address. The authorities said he confessed to talking to the 13-year-old girl and receiving explicit videos and images of her. He told her he was 15 years old.
"We did a search warrant with Homeland Security. We were able to seize his cell phone, and we did find images and videos depicting underage children," Peters Township Police Department Detective Ed Walker said.
During a search, police said they found more than 400 images and videos on his phone. He also had folders of explicit images of at least 20 other victims from all over the country.
"As with anything, look at what your kids are doing on their phones every day," Walker said. "Snapchat again, you don't know who they're talking to. And they could say they're a 15-year-old person and they're a 27-year-old man. It's dangerous."
Nesdahl is behind bars in North Dakota and will be brought to Washington County in the coming days, as Homeland Security in Pittsburgh is taking over the case.
Two other individuals from Florida and California are under investigation. Their phones and computers have been seized, police said. They are believed to be connected to the case, but no charges have been filed yet.