Virginia Man Sentenced to 16 Years in Prison for Sextortion and Production of Sexually Explicit Videos of a Minor

ST. PAUL, Minn. - A Virginia man has been sentenced to 192 months in prison followed by 20 years of supervised release for using social media to contact and coerce a minor to create sexually explicit material, announced U.S. Attorney Andrew M. Luger.

According to court documents, between November 2023 and February 2024, Raymond Jung Woo Choi, a.k.a Jason Lee, 42, of Centreville, Virginia, used Instagram and other social media apps to engage in sexually-focused conversations with a 13-14-year-old girl. Often using the alias "Jason Lee," Choi knowingly enticed and coerced the minor victim to send him sexually explicit images and videos on Instagram. Choi also groomed and enticed the minor victim by providing gifts, which he sent via Amazon or mailed directly via the U.S. Postal Service.

According to court documents, on February 17, 2024, Choi flew from Virginia to Minnesota to attempt to meet the minor victim in person. Because of family and law enforcement intervention, Choi was unsuccessful in his meeting attempt and flew back to Virginia.

Choi pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography on October 2, 2024. He was sentenced today in U.S. District Court by Judge Donovan W. Frank.

This case is the result of an investigation conducted by the Anoka County Sheriff's Office and U.S. Postal Inspection Service. It 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. Attorney's Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew C. Murphy prosecuted the case.