New Jersey man pleads guilty stalking, child porn charges

PROVIDENCE, R.I. (AP) - A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to persuading four minor girls to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves after befriending them on social media, federal prosecutors in Rhode Island say.

Pritkumar Tarunkumar Patel, 23, of Closter, New Jersey, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Providence on Thursday to cyberstalking and receipt of child pornography, authorities said.

Patel also threatened to share the photographs on social media with the girls' classmates and others if they didn't continue to communicate with him, according to the office of U.S. Attorney Aaron Weisman.

On at least one occasion he followed through on his threats by posting a sexually explicit picture of one victim, a 13-year-old girl from Indiana, on an Instagram account he created using her name, prosecutors said.

The other three girls were from Rhode Island.

Patel had no prior criminal activity and comes from a good family, his attorney said.

'œHe entered his plea to put this behind him," attorney Kevin Conway said. 'œHe admits he made a mistake and apologizes to the victims."

Patel faces seven years in prison at sentencing scheduled for July 30.