An Arizona teen could be sentenced to more than 600 years in prison after allegedly hacking into a computer and stealing thousands of indecent images of children.
Cameron Charles Brush, of Mohave Valley, is accused of gaining unauthorized access to a 17-year-old girl's social media account and stealing sexually explicit images of her. Brush then allegedly threatened to publish the stolen images online unless the victim sent him new lewd nudes.
An investigation into Brush's online activities was begun in August 2019 after the victim reported to the local sheriff that her social media account had been hacked and photos had been removed from her account.
The sheriff's detectives were able to recover IP addresses used by the hacker and trace them to computers linked to Brush's two residences. A subsequent search of electronic devices owned by Brush uncovered over 4,000 images of child pornography.
Evidence discovered on Brush's cell phone and computers suggest that the teen hacked into multiple social media accounts belonging to juveniles. Detectives found photos and videos depicting around 50 different underage victims.
Brush, now 18, was indicted last week on ten counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, seven counts of sexual extortion, seven counts of computer tampering, and one count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor.
The indictments relate to offenses that Brush is accused of committing between April and September 2019 when he was aged 17. On Tuesday, the teen pleaded not guilty to 25 new felony charges brought against him in 2020.
Five more charges related to computer tampering, sexual exploitation of a minor, and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor were brought against Brush in a third case, but were later dropped by prosecutors.
If convicted of all 25 charges in the 2020 indictment, Brush could receive a maximum sentence of 395 years. He could be handed an additional consecutive jail term of 240 years if convicted of all ten counts in the 2019 indictment.
Brush is currently being held in the county jail on a bond that was initially set at $1m but later reduced to $100,000 per indictment.