Former FBI contractor accused of grooming dozens of boys, soliciting child pornography

A former FBI contractor from Arlington, Virginia, has been indicted for allegedly grooming dozens of children and soliciting child pornography.

Brett William Janes, who began working for the FBI in May and previously worked for another unspecified intelligence agency, engaged with "roughly a dozen" young boys over Discord and Snapchat.

According to the Department of Justice, Janes groomed his victims by flashing his badge and "telling them he worked for a U.S. intelligence agency before repeatedly threatening suicide if the minors did not continue to communicate with him."

In one instance, the former FBI contractor successfully enticed a young boy he had met via the video game "Valorant" to "strip and masturbate over a live video Discord call," both by paying him hundreds of dollars over CashApp and again threatening to kill himself, said the DOJ.

Janes allegedly also had a 12-year-old boy create and send him child pornography via Discord "through flattery and repeated begging."

The DOJ said that in addition to soliciting and acquiring child pornography from these and other minor victims, Janes allegedly purchased hundreds of videos and images of child sex abuse material over Telegram and attempted to meet up with a minor.

Charging documents indicate that after learning one victim was only 14, Janes tried to have him come over to his house.

Paul Fisher, a special agent with the FBI Washington field office's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, indicated in his affidavit supporting Janes' arrest — which took place on May 31 — that the investigation into the accused kicked off in February after a concerned father notified police in Galloway Township, New Jersey, that he had discovered his son had been communicating with an adult over Discord.

Washington-based FBI agents began pursuing the case after agents in Atlantic City, New Jersey, provided them with a lead on April 21, 2023.

The former FBI contractor appears to have made it relatively easy for investigators to track him down, having sent pictures of the badges he used to access federal buildings to his victims. His IP address, email address, and phone number also reportedly corresponded the offending Discord account.

A federal grand jury in the Eastern District of Virginia indicted him Wednesday on two counts of sexual exploitation of children and production of child pornography, one count of attempting coercion and enticement, and one count of receipt of child pornography.

If convicted, he will serve at least 15 years in prison and could face life in prison.

WUSA-TV noted that anyone who believes they or someone they know may have been victimized by Janes should contact the FBI at 202-278-2000.

Court documents indicated his username on Discord was "revision#3409."

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