Milwaukee, WI
Teen blackmailed with inappropriate pictures, Milwaukee man reaches plea deal
OCONOMOWOC, Wis. – A Milwaukee man accused in 2023 of befriending a teen girl online, convincing her to share inappropriate photos and then threatening to leak those photos if she didn’t meet up with him reached a plea deal with prosecutors.
Benjamin Oswald, 25, pleaded guilty to using a computer to facilitate a child sex crime. As part of a plea deal with prosecutors, charges of exposing genitals and threatening to communicate derogatory information were dismissed.
According to a criminal complaint, Oswald claimed he was 18 years old and sent a Snapchat friend request to a girl who said she told him she was 14 years old. After accepting the friend request, the victim said she immediately started getting Snapchat messages from this person.
SIGN UP TODAY: Get daily headlines, breaking news emails from FOX6 News
Prosecutors said Oswald used fake names and threatened to distribute inappropriate pictures of the victim if she did not meet him at an Oconomowoc park. The complaint said the victim initially claimed she didn’t send photos to Oswald, but later said she did because Oswald told her he would “give her drugs and money” in exchange for them.
The victim later stopped responding to Oswald, prosecutors said, after Oswald kept trying to get her to meet up. She blocked him on Snapchat, but got a new friend request from him using a different name the next day. The complaint said Oswald told the victim he would send drugs or alcohol if she met up with him, but the victim told him not to contact her anymore and warned that he would be blocked. Prosecutors said Oswald then threatened to post the inappropriate photos online.
Oconomowoc Police Department
Prosecutors said the victim was also threatened with the leak of the photos if she didn’t re-add him on Snapchat again after blocking him. According to the complaint, Oswald then gave her a deadline to meet him at an Oconomowoc park, telling the victim if she “didn’t show up, she would regret it.” The victim told police he proved he had the inappropriate photos of her by sending them to her friend. The victim contacted the police to report the harassment and “admitted she was not initially truthful” with officers “because she was afraid she would get in trouble.”
The complaint said the victim’s grandfather chased Oswald’s vehicle after they found him waiting at the Oconomowoc park. The victim, a passenger in her grandfather’s vehicle, was able to identify Oswald as the driver of the car waiting at the park because he “would frequently send her” inappropriate pictures, the complaint said.
The victim said her grandfather got out and tried confronting Oswald, but he sped off. They were all eventually stopped by police.
Brad Paisley (Photo by Scott Dudelson/Getty Images)
MILWAUKEE – Brad Paisley is scheduled to perform at the BMO Pavilion in Milwaukee on Sept. 4.
Ticket information
What we know:
The ticket pre-sale for Brad’s fan club members, Paisley Nation, begins on Tuesday, May 12 at 10 am. All tickets available at BradPaisley.com.
The tour will also offer a variety of VIP packages and experiences for fans to take their concert experience to the next level.
FREE DOWNLOAD: Get breaking news alerts in the FOX LOCAL Mobile app for iOS or Android
Packages vary but include premium seats, a guided backstage tour, VIP-exclusive gift item, early entry & more. VIP package contents vary depending on the selected offer. For more information, visit VIPnation.com.
The Source: The information in this post was provided by Live Nation.
Billionaire Wes Edens, co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and co-owner of the Milwaukee Bucks NBA club, is shown at Sun Valley, Idaho, on July 9, 2015. The Wall Street Journal on Sunday identified Edens as the victim of a billion-dollar extortion plot allegedly hatched by an ex-lover. File Photo by Andrew Gombert/EPA
May 10 (UPI) — Wes Edens, the billionaire co-founder of Fortress Investment Group and an owner of the NBA’s Milwaukee Bucks, was the target of a billion-dollar extortion scheme allegedly perpetrated by an ex-lover, the Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.
A spokesman for Edens, 64, confirmed to the newspaper that the financier is the unnamed alleged victim in a federal indictment brought against Changli “Sophia” Luo of New York City.
Edens, one of world’s most successful global investment management firm leaders with Fortress, has developed and owned businesses in real estate, transportation, infrastructure, health care, financial services, media and entertainment.
He is also a high-profile sports team owner, including the Bucks and soccer club Aston Villa of the English Premier League. He is credited turning the Bucks from a perennial cellar dweller into a champion squad over a five-year span, culminating in the 2021 NBA championship.
But he also fell victim to a lurid alleged “sextortion” scheme, his spokesman confirmed to the WSJ, admitting the Edens is the unnamed “Victim 1” cited an indictment filed last year in Manhattan federal court against Luo.
The indictment reportedly accuses her of trying to extort Victim 1 of more than $1 billion by threatening to release videos and photos of them engaged in sex. Prosecutors alleged Luo also threatened to contact the victim’s family members and business partners in a threat to destroy his fortune if he did not pay up.
According to the indictment, Luo was arrested June 14 at JFK International Airport as she tried to board a flight to China, the New York Post reported.
“Mr. Edens will be making no comment on the case as the indictment speaks for itself with respect to the charges against the defendant,” his spokesman told the Journal. “Mr. Edens expects to testify under oath at the upcoming trial.”
MILWAUKEE – Forecast from FOX6 Meteorologist Lisa Michaels
Mostly sunny skies with partly sunny skies in the afternoon. There is a slight chance for a few sprinkles, but most areas remain dry. Highs near 60F on Sunday.
Patchy frost is possible again Sunday night into Monday morning as low temps inland can reach the lower 30s.
Cooler on Monday with easterly winds- low 50s near the lake to upper 50s inland.
A big boost in temperatures on Tuesday in the low 70s associated with a clipper system will bring the next chance of rain and a few storms.
Today: Mostly Sunny. Slight chance sprinkles.
High: 60°
Wind: NW 5-15
Tonight: Mostly Clear. Patchy frost.
Low: 38°
Wind: N 5
Monday: 53 LAKE. Mostly sunny.
High: 57°
Wind: E 5-10
Tuesday: Chance storms. Breezy.
AM Low: 39° High: 71°
Wind: SW 10-25
Wednesday:Partly sunny.
AM Low: 46° High: 59°
Wind: NW 5-15
Thursday: Mostly Sunny. Slight chance sprinkles.
AM Low: 42° High: 64°
Wind: S 5-10
Friday: Chance of Rain
AM Low: 47° High: 72°
Wind: SW 5-15
6-day planner
FOX6 Weather Extras
Local perspective:
Meanwhile, FOX6Now.com offers a variety of extremely useful weather tools to help you navigate the stormy season. They include the following:
FOX6 Storm Center app
FOX LOCAL Mobile app
FOX Weather app
FOX Weather
Big picture view:
Maps and radar
We have a host of maps and radars on the FOX6 Weather page that are updating regularly — to provide you the most accurate assessment of the weather. From a county-by-county view to the Midwest regional radar and a national view — it’s all there.
School and business closings
When the weather gets a little dicey, schools and businesses may shut down. Monitor the latest list of closings, cancellations, and delays reported in southeast Wisconsin.
FOX6 Weather Experts in social media
-
News8 minutes agoVideo: Americans Exposed to Hantavirus on Cruise Ship Arrive in United States
-
Politics14 minutes agoTrump Proposes Suspending Federal Gas Tax Until Prices Fall
-
Business20 minutes agoKennedy Is Driving a Vast Inquiry Into Vaccines, Despite His Public Silence
-
Science26 minutes agoA Fish That Hitches Rides Where the Sun Doesn’t Shine
-
Health32 minutes agoDoctors Reveal the 3 Surprising Weight-Loss Hacks Nobody Talks About
-
Culture44 minutes agoDo You Recognize These Snappy Lines From Popular Crime Novels?
-
Lifestyle50 minutes agoThanks to ‘Mormon Wives,’ Dirty Soda Is a National Obsession
-
Education56 minutes agoCursive Club, Where Students Learn With a Flourish