Former middle school paraprofessional sentenced to 20 Years in prison for child sextortion scheme

(ABC 6 News) – A Coon Rapids man has been sentenced to 240 months in prison followed by 12 years of supervised release for a sextortion scheme that targeted minors through social media and an online gaming forum.

According to court documents, Glen Robert Anderson, 24, previously worked as a middle school paraprofessional in special education. Anderson used multiple internet applications and social media accounts for email, file sharing, and chatting with minors, including Snapchat and Grindr. Anderson also owned and administered an online gaming forum. To participate in the forum, users were required to submit an application, which included the age of the user.

As Anderson knew, many of the users were minors. Between April 1, 2016, through August 20, 2021, Anderson used his position as the forum administrator to groom minors to produce child pornography and engage in sexual activity with him, including by providing minors with in-game perks, privileges, and other gifts. For example, Anderson coerced a 13-year-old victim to engage in sexually explicit acts for the purpose of producing images and videos.

Anderson later threatened to release those sexually explicit images if the victim did not respond to Anderson’s demands.

Anderson pleaded guilty on June 28, 2022, to two counts of production of child pornography, one count of enticement of a minor, and one count of interstate communications with intent to extort. He was sentenced on March 15, 2023, before Chief Judge Patrick J. Schiltz.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI, the Anoka County Sheriff’s Office, the Erie County (Ohio) Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension and Waterloo Regional Police Service in Ontario, Canada.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela M. Munoz and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Miranda E. Dugi prosecuted the case.