A Corona man was arraigned on charges that he forced young girls to perform sex acts as part of an online game, Queens District Attorney Richard Brown and NYPD Commissioner William Bratton said Monday.
Jorel Fowler, 23, of Corona, allegedly would engage young girls over the Internet and lure them into participating in what he called “The Game,” in which the children were awarded points for performing various activities, including sexual acts, according to the DA.
“This defendant is alleged to have coached seven young girls who he met online to perform various types of sexual acts, which he then videotaped – convincing the girls that they were playing a game,” Brown said in a prepared statement. “Once again, we urge parents to monitor their children’s Internet activities because there are sexual predators waiting to take advantage of their children’s innocence and trusting nature.”
Bratton too emphasized the possible dangers of the Internet.
“The Internet can be a valuable source of information and education for young children, but in this case, it can also be a very dangerous environment,” Bratton said in a prepared statement. “This predator used the Internet to manipulate and prey upon young girls, but thanks to the efforts of investigators of the NYPD’s Computer Crime Squad and Queens district attorney’s office, Fowler can no longer exploit his victims.”
According to the charges, NYPD detectives received a cyber tipline from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a child luring and child pornography complaint involving a 12-year-old girl from Altus, Oklahoma, with whom Fowler had allegedly been in communication with earlier this year. Following the tip on Feb. 20, detectives went to Fowler’s home and, with his permission, removed as Asus laptop computer and an iPhone 5, the DA said.
A forensic examination of the laptop allegedly recovered seven videos titled Sarah, Tiffany & Britney, Katelyn, Julia, Gabrielle, Ashley, and Alex. The videos allegedly include text and video conversations between the defendant and the different girls who are under 16 years of age and engaging in “The Game,” according to Brown.
Fowler allegedly had different levels to the game, with a smile landing the girls five points and a child touching various body parts with her fingers or objects for 3,000 points, the DA said.
The defendant allegedly admitted to police that he has been in touch with more than 10 minor females. The district attorney asked that anyone who believes they may have been victimized by Fowler to please call (718) 286-6590.
