Pittsburgh man pleads guilty to threatening minors on social media for sexual photos

A man from Pittsburgh’s Hill District pleaded guilty in federal court Wednesday to extorting children to send him sexually graphic photos on Instagram.

Markell Smith, 25, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge William S. Stickman on June 15. He faces at least 15 years in prison, according to the plea agreement reached with prosecutors.

A criminal complaint filed against Smith said he created several Instagram accounts from which he sent messages to at least eight minors soliciting nude photos.

Smith would first send the children a friend request. Then through messages in the social media app, he would tell the minor that if they didn’t send pictures of themselves, he would hack into their account, phone or computer.

Further, the government said, Smith would threaten the minors’ families with harm if they did not comply.

With one child, Smith wrote, “’Ignore all you want since you don’t seem to care if I hack you and harm your family,’” the affidavit of probable cause said.

In some images, the minors sent images of their genitals. In others, they sent pictures of their legs, feet, arms and face.

All of the emails and Instagram accounts used in the threats traced back to an IP address in Pittsburgh. When investigators executed a search warrant at the home associated with that IP address, on Nov. 8, 2019, they said Smith admitted to using the email addresses associated with the Instagram accounts in question and to making the threats.

“Smith explained he did not know the ages of his victims but knew some were ‘young,’” the affidavit said. “When Smith was asked if Smith would threaten to kill the persons he was communicating with, Smith confirmed he would threaten to kill the person and/or their family.

“When asked if Smith understood it was wrong to threaten to kill people, he confirmed he understood that, and he only made the threats because he liked to see and hear the terror from the individuals.”

The child victims, including one who was just 11 years old, lived in New Jersey, Florida, Washington, Pennsylvania and Kentucky. The threats, according to the plea agreement, date back to 2015.