Center Line man sentenced to 40 years for sexual exploitation of children
DETROIT, Mich. (CBS DETROIT) - Colin Martin, 34, of Center Line, was sentenced to 40 years for sexual exploitation of children and coercion of a minor, the United States Attorney's Office announced Thursday.
Martin pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2022.
In 2014, 2016, and 2017, Martin pretended to be a female talent scout on the app Musical.ly.
After gaining victims' trust, he forced them to engage in sexual and other acts to create videos and images for his pleasure. officials said.
If the victims asked to stop, Martin threatened to share the videos and photos with the victims' friends and he victimized at least eight identified minors, authorities said.
Several victims reported what happened to authorities in Illinois, Ohio, Toronto, and Canada. This led to the Michigan State Police's involvement in 2019 and Homeland Security Investigations' execution for a search warrant at Martin's home in July 2020.
Martin's devices were analyzed and HSI Agents identified the victims.
"The lengths to which individuals like Martin will go to exploit and traumatize children is truly reprehensible. The conduct in this case is horrific. Hopefully, this sentence sends a clear message to like-minded individuals: we will not allow you to harm our children and will use the full arsenal of our federal laws to stop you," U.S. Attorney Dawn N. Ison said.
