A 22-year-old Long Island man has been indicted for pretending to be a children’s dance instructor online in order to procure inappropriate videos and images of young girls.
Taner Ocal, of Lindenhurst, was charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child after he allegedly contacted a pair of 10-year-old Texas girls on Instagram and asked that they film themselves dancing, the Suffolk County District Attorney’s Office said.
“When Ocal asked them to send explicit photos of themselves, the children blocked his account and told their parents,” prosecutors said in a press release issued following Thursday’s indictment.
The girls’ parents contacted Fort Worth Texas police, who worked with Long Island authorities to arrest Ocal in June.
Cops said they found nearly two dozen images of children on the suspect’s cellphone when they located Ocal, who allegedly tried deleting some of those photos and videos before authorities saw the evidence.
Prosecutors said the sensitive nature of the investigation and the victims’ ages prohibit them from publicly offering specifics about Ocal’s alleged activities.
He paid $25,000 bail and was granted supervised release while awaiting an Aug. 20 hearing.
