Former Puyallup resident guilty of pressuring girls to send him sex photos online
A 23-year-old man pleaded guilty Thursday to pressuring girls between the ages of 13 and 16, whom he met online, into sending him sexually explicit images of themselves.
Nicholas Marshall, who lived in Puyallup during most of his criminal activity, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court to four counts of receipt of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Nick Brown announced in a news release.
The guilty plea came one day after Marshall was sentenced in Pierce County Superior Court to 7 years, three months in prison for the exploitation of a 12-year-old in Texas.
In that case, Marshall was convicted of two counts of communication with a minor for immoral purposes, second-degree possession of depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, second-degree viewing depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct, luring, and sexual exploitation of a minor.
Under the plea agreement in Marshall’s federal court case, prosecutors and defense attorneys agreed to a recommended sentencing of 9 years in prison and 15 years of supervised release. Marshall’s state and federal sentencing will run concurrently.
Marshall is to be sentenced in U.S. District Court on April 1.
Between October 2018 and September 2019, Marshall communicated with various girls who were minors through Snapchat and Discord, a social media app popular among video gamers. According to the news release, Homeland Security Investigations in Houston began an investigation after a 12-year-old’s mother reported that her daughter was communicating with Marshall through text messages and on Discord.
Puyallup police investigated the case, and Marshall was charged in Pierce County Superior Court.
Further investigation found that Marshall pressured at least four other victims into sending him sexually explicit images. They included a 13-year-old in Washington state, a 16-year-old in Wisconsin, a 14-year-old in Texas and a 15-year-old in Canada.
To get the girls to send him images, Marshall promised them money or gift cards, and in other cases he threatened them or their families, according to the release.
Investigators searched Marshall’s residence in Seattle in September 2019, and they found 38 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his devices. Marshall was arrested at his job as a security guard in Seattle.
Marshall was allowed to stay at his apartment in Seattle or at an address in Puyallup during his Pierce County court proceedings. Following his sentencing Wednesday, he was taken into state custody.
This story was originally published January 6, 2022 at 1:04 PM.
