BOSTON, MA – A legal resolution is on the horizon as Markell Greene, a 27-year-old from Bronx, NY, entered a guilty plea in a Boston federal court on Friday, October 20, for charges related to child exploitation and illicit travel with nefarious intent.
Greene faced the law for coercing a minor into explicit sexual acts aimed at creating child [censored]ography, and for crossing state lines with the intent of engaging in illegal sexual conduct with the minor. The charges stemmed from a series of incidents that began in late 2021 when Greene, misrepresenting his age, initiated contact with a 12-year-old via Snapchat, gradually manipulating the minor into sending explicit images and videos.
The deceit escalated on February 14, 2022, when Greene persuaded the minor to meet him personally. The rendezvous, staged at an Arlington parking lot, took a dark turn as Greene assaulted the minor sexually, documenting the crime on Snapchat.
After his arrest in February 2022 on state warrants, a federal grand jury indicted Greene in November 2022. The guilty plea on October 20 precedes the sentencing scheduled for February 15, 2024, by U.S. District Court Judge Patti B. Saris. The charges carry a weighty penalty, including a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison for child sexual exploitation and up to 30 years for both charges.