Man Used Snapchat To Prey On, Sexually Exploit 9-Year-Old Girl For Span Of 2 Years

A Minnesota man has pleaded guilty on Tuesday, Sept. 7, to charges of sexually exploiting a minor as a means of receiving sexually explicit pictures and videos.

Arkady Pavlovich Pichurin, a 26-year-old man from Rochester, Minnesota, has confessed to sexually exploiting a minor with the intent of producing explicit photos and videos of the child, the U.S. Attorney’s Office reported.

Pichurin reportedly used instant messaging and texting services like Snapchat to communicate with the minor, who was between the age of 9 and 10 years old at the time. The suspect allegedly lied about his age and identity to continue speaking with the underage victim and used their correspondence to “engage in sexually explicit conduct” with her, according to Post Bulletin.

“This is a particularly egregious case involving an adult using popular social media apps to prey on and exploit dozens of children,” Acting United States Attorney W. Anders Folk said. “We continue to urge parents, teachers, caregivers, and young people alike to be vigilant in reporting these types of crimes to law enforcement.”

Pichurin has admitted to using this method to gain the trust of over twenty minors, though he has yet to clarify his intentions behind his actions, as well as why he has been exploiting underage victims for sexually explicit media.

In spite of his guilty plea on this case, he has pleaded not guilty to 60 counts of child pornography in Olmsted County, though it remains unclear if the pornography they recovered in his possession was the sexually explicit media he collected from the minors, KMT3 News reported.

Pichurin was caught with child pornography in his persons during a January 2021 search of his laptop that was taken by the Rochester Police Department after a child pornography complaint was issued against him.

“I commend the Olmsted County Attorney’s Office and the investigators with the Rochester Police Department and the FBI for aggressively pursuing this sexual predator and holding him accountable for the harm he caused,” U.S. Attorney Folk said.

The case is being prosecuted under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice project that looks out for and protects children from sexual exploitation and abuse.