WAUKESHA, Wis., Feb. 25 (UPI) -- A 19-year-old New Berlin, Wis., teen will spend 15 years in prison for blackmailing seven teens via Facebook, prosecutors said.
WISN-TV, Milwaukee, reported Wednesday Anthony Stancl was sentenced after he pleaded no contest to repeated sexual assault of a child and third-degree sexual assault for blackmailing the teens into performing sex acts.
Stancl posed as a girl online to obtain nude photos of several classmates. Authorities said after the victims sent Stancl the photos, the suspect used the items as leverage to force the teens to perform sex acts on him.
"It has resulted in hospitalization for some of those victims for concerns they would harm themselves," District Attorney Brad Schimel said.
WISN said Stancl offered an apology to his victims in a statement Wednesday.
"I am deeply, deeply sorry for the pain and suffering I have caused you and your family. I can't imagine or understand how much of an impact my actions have had on you," said Stancl, who will also be required to register as a sex offender and serve 13 years on extended supervision upon his release from prison.
