Accused sextortionist to plead guilty

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. (WTHI) - A Brazil, Ind. man accused of coercing minors into sending him sexually explicit images has asked to plead guilty to the 13 federal charges against him.

Richard Finkbiner was arrested in July 2012, after investigators reported finding thousands of graphic images of children in Finkbiner’s possession.

Authorities said Finkbiner would use fake Web camera software to convince teens to send him sexually explicit videos and images. They said he would then record those images and use them to blackmail the teens into sending more photos and video.

Finkbiner is charged with ten felony counts of child exploitation, two felony counts of extortion and one count of possessing child pornography.

On Thursday, U.S. Attorney Joseph Hogsett announced that Finkbiner had asked to plead guilty to all 13 counts as part of a plea agreement. Under that agreement, Finkbiner would be sentenced to between 30 and 50 years in prison.

The agreement still needs to be accepted by the federal courts.