Investigators: Manatee Co. man extorted teen girl for nude photos on Snapchat

BRADENTON, Fla. - It started as a conversation on the Snapchat between two people who've never met, a 15-year-old girl and a man posing as a 17-year-old.

After nude photos were exchanged the conversations took a dark turn, according to Randy Warren, with the Manatee County Sheriff's Office.

"The suspect as they do so many times was playing off the innocence of this victim," said Warren. "She was being told to send more photos, more revealing photos or there would be threats to her." 

The man told the girl her photos would be shared with her classmates if she didn't send more. The victim, who lived in Ventura County, California contacted authorities, who started an investigation.

"This person was pretending to be more than one person and the goal here was to get these pornographic images," said Warren. 

An IP address brought California authorities to 19-year-old Bailey Terry in Manatee County. On his phone, deputies would find multiple explicit images of underage girls. 

Investigators now believe there could be more victims. 

"As part of the investigation, we will go into it deeper to see if there are other profiles, other IP addresses, to see if there were other people,” Warren said. "Parents, guardians, and supervisors of children need to know who they're talking to and also try to get their kids to communicate to them if they've been in something." 

Investigators said the best way to know what's happening is to know what's on your child's phone. 

Terry faces 14 felony charges, including multiple counts of child pornography and extortion.