Sexual predator coerces pre-teens into sending nudes sent to detention center

A 20-year-old man has been sentenced to a detention center after admitting to coercing two 12-year-old schoolgirls into sending hundreds of explicit photos and videos, including images of their breasts, genitals, and buttocks. One of the victims later took her own life.

The defendant, L.Y.F., pleaded guilty to two counts of inciting a child under 16 to commit an act of gross indecency at the District Court. The offenses occurred between December 2022 and March 2023.

The case came to light after one of the girls, X, committed suicide on March 15, 2023. Her father discovered numerous explicit images on her phone while sorting through her belongings and reported the matter to the police. Investigations revealed that L.Y.F., who had attended a neighboring school, contacted X via Instagram and repeatedly pressured her into sending over 190 intimate images.

Police also found that the defendant targeted X’s classmate, Y, after X’s death, coercing her into sending approximately 67 photos and six videos.

L.Y.F. was arrested on March 27 and confessed to the crimes. He told police he initially asked X for photos every few days but later escalated his demands to a daily basis.

When she resisted, he demanded she pay him between HK$80 and HK$100. The defendant claimed to have returned the money but was unsure if the full amount was refunded, the court heard.

He also admitted that after learning from X that her classmate, Y, had a "good figure," he began targeting her with similar requests for explicit images.

During sentencing on Thursday (Oct 30), Judge Wong Kwok-Fai referenced a psychological report that identified L.Y.F. as a pedophile with a high risk of reoffending, and imposed a detention center sentence in accordance with the report’s recommendation.