Indiana Man Charged for Coercing Minor to Engage in Self-Harm and Possession of Images of Child Sexual Abuse

NEWARK, N.J. - An Indiana man was charged with stalking a minor child in the District of New Jersey over the internet and enticing her to harm herself, and possessing images of child sexual abuse, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.

Billy Joe Holman, a/k/a "William Holman," 26, of West Lebanon, Indiana, was charged in a two-count complaint with cyber stalking and possession of child pornography. He had an initial appearance yesterday, before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott J. Frankel in federal court in the Northern District of Indiana and was ordered detained.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Holman met the minor female victim ("Victim 1") in or around October 2025 on a social media platform. Holman systematically targeted Victim 1-whom he knew to be 12 years old-by grooming, coercing, and otherwise compelling her to carry out his orders. Holman used coercive control, a pattern of behavior used to dominate another person through manipulation, including the weaponization of affection followed by verbal abuse or threats, to direct Victim 1's actions. Over the course of approximately a month, Holman coerced Victim 1 to harm herself by, among other things, carving Holman's initials into her skin and punching herself in the stomach on video and sending that video to Holman. Holman also demanded Victim 1 to take photographs of herself that constituted images of child sexual abuse materials and sending them to Holman.

The charge of stalking carries a maximum penalty of 10 years in prison, and possession of child pornography carries a statutory maximum penalty of 10 years in prison. Holman is also facing a fine of up to $250,000.

U.S. Attorney Frazer credited the Newark and Indianapolis Joint Terrorism Task Forces of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy in Newark, New Jersey, and Special Agent in Charge Timothy O'Malley in Indianapolis, Indiana, the Morris County Sheriff's Office, under the direction of Sheriff James M. Gannon, and the Dover Police Department, under the direction of Chief Jonathan Delaney, with the investigation leading to the charge. He also thanked the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of Indiana, under the direction of United States Attorney Adam L. Mildred.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS) in the Justice Department's Criminal Division, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit: https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sammi Malek of the National Security Unit in Newark, with assistance from Trial Attorneys Justin Sher and James Donnelly of the U.S. Department of Justice's Counterterrorism Section of the National Security Division.

The charges and allegations contained in the complaint are merely accusations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.

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