A Chicago man named Karl Quilter has received a 30-year prison sentence for his involvement in soliciting sexually explicit content from young girls in the Philippines, AFP reported. The United States Attorney’s Office for the North District of Illinois said that Quilter, aged 58, had previously pleaded guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of children.
US District Judge Virginia Kendall sentenced Quilter to 30 years in federal prison. The US Attorney’s Office issued a statement on Friday confirming the sentence.
Between 2017 and 2020, Quilter enticed and manipulated at least nine girls in the Philippines into producing sexually explicit photos and videos.
He used platforms like Facebook, Viber, and Skype to communicate with the victims and receive illicit content.
Exploiting the financial difficulties faced by these girls and their families, Quilter resorted to money transfers as a means to encourage them to record and send explicit material.
US Attorney’s Office said, Quilter “preyed on the victims’ financial difficulties, using money transfers to the victims’ families to entice the girls to record the sexually explicit images.”
Years of predatory abuse
In the government’s sentencing memorandum, Assistant US Attorney Ashley Chung described Quilter’s actions as a deliberate targeting and grooming of young Filipino girls. “Victim by victim, and message by message, defendant used social media and the internet to target and groom young Filipino girls,” Chung said.
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She also added that this was not an isolated incident but rather a recurring and extensive pattern of predatory abuse and exploitation of minors.
