HORRIFYING

Student, Teacher Charged in Alleged Human Trafficking, Child Porn Scheme

The pair allegedly obtained sexually explicit images of minors via a “social media ruse” and then used those images to threaten them into sex acts.

A 17-year-old high-school student and a 37-year-old teacher at Northwest High School in Nebraska were charged this week for their alleged roles in a child pornography and human-trafficking scheme after they—through threats and coercion—forced minors to engage in sexually explicit performances for the production of child pornography, police said. Max Rookstool, the student, and Brian Mohr, the teacher, obtained sexually explicit images of the minors via a “social media ruse” and then used those images to threaten them into sex acts, said the Grand Island Police Department, in a press release. The police department was assisted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations team.

Rookstool is charged with two counts of human trafficking, two counts of human trafficking of a minor, one count of first-degree sexual assault, 11 counts of visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct, and one count of unlawful distribution of images or videos of another person’s intimate area. Mohr faces multiple counts of possession of sexually explicit material (child pornography).