Danish computer expert held in child sex case involving St. Joseph girl

A 60-year-old Danish computer expert has been charged with enticing a St. Joseph girl to send explicit images of herself, then threatening to distribute them on the Internet.

Immigration authorities Friday arrested Kai Lundstroem Pedersen of Aarhus, Denmark, in Stony Brook, N.Y., where he was vacationing. A federal judge there ordered him held on a charge of distributing child pornography until he could be brought to Kansas City.

According to court records unsealed Wednesday, the case began on Facebook, where the 11-year-old girl met Pedersen using an application that lets users chat with each other regardless of their “friend” status, according to investigators.

“Parents who would never invite a stranger into their child’s bedroom may not realize that Facebook, webcams and online chat rooms can expose their children to sexual predators who take advantage of technology to exploit their victims,” said U.S. Attorney Beth Phillips.

Court records alleged that the girl met Pedersen in July. The conversation moved to an Internet messaging service, where Pedersen disclosed that he lived in Denmark. The girl eventually agreed to masturbate in front of a web camera, according to an affidavit filed by an immigration agent.

After the girl later refused to return to the webcam, Pedersen sent her e-mails containing still images and a video from her initial performance, and threatened to send the images to her Facebook friends and upload them to the Internet, according to court records.

During August, authorities allege, Pedersen sent messages to the girl’s Facebook page, saying other computer users had downloaded her video nearly 900 times.

“You have to realize that you are on the Internet forever,” he allegedly wrote. “Even 10 years from now you can still be found — and enjoyed.”

Authorities began investigating in mid-August and traced the messages to an Internet provider in Denmark. But after Pedersen announced that he was leaving on vacation, authorities noticed the messages were coming from an Internet address in Stony Brook.

Homeland Security records showed that Pedersen on Aug. 23 entered the U.S. and listed the Stony Brook address as his intended temporary residence.