14 DAY TRIAL // 17-year-old Michael William Cook, of Acworth, Georgia, US, has been arrested and charged with distributing adult content involving children.
Police say Cook sent his victims, all aged under 18, text messages that appeared to be coming from a company called Maxi Focus Photography in an effort to trick them into installing a malicious app that allowed him to gain control of their devices, 9News informs.
Once he had access to the devices, he copied explicit photos and posted them on illegal adult websites that hosted explicit photographs of children.
Authorities have obtained a warrant to search his home and have seized his computer, which they’re probing for additional photos that might lead them to other victims.
Cook has been charged with 8 counts of cruelty to children and one count of exploiting children.
In the meantime, individuals who have received text messages from Maxi Focus Photography are advised to call the Cobb County Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit at 770-801-3470.