Sheriff's Deputy Preyed On Teen Girls, Coercing Them To Send Sexually Explicit Images

A former Sheriff's deputy in Colorado who preyed on teenage girls by coercing them to send him sexually explicit images while in service has been sentenced to prison, officials said.

Vincent Ryan Potter, the 38-year-old former deputy with the Adams County Sheriff's Office in Colorado, has been sentenced to 262 months in prison on charges of coercion and enticement of a minor in connection with two teenage girls from North Carolina, the Department of Justice said in a news release Monday.

After serving the sentencing, Potter needs to have a lifetime of supervised release and has been ordered to register himself as a sex offender, the release stated.

It said that Potter created multiple accounts on Snapchat where he posed as a 15-year-old boy and a 23-year-old man. He then forced a 14-year-old girl in North Carolina to send him sexually explicit material. Potter also reportedly threatened the girl that he would release the images if she did not continue sending him the material.

During the same time, Potter communicated with another teenage girl demanding sexually explicit images from her.

"Potter is an online predator who contacted vulnerable children via social media and used deception, pressure, and threats to coerce his young victims into sending him sexually explicit images and videos of themselves. Potter was a sworn officer of the law which makes this case particularly disturbing," U.S. Attorney Dena J. King said.

Potter was arrested in August 2021 and entered the guilty plea in March 2022. He admitted to the charges of coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct to produce child pornography, WCNC reported.

"As a former law enforcement officer, this defendant betrayed the public trust placed in him by preying on children rather than protecting them, as he was sworn to do. HSI is committed to holding those who seek to exploit children fully accountable, regardless of the position they may hold," Special Agent in Charge Martinez said.

"HSI is committed to holding those who seek to exploit children fully accountable, regardless of the position they may hold," Martinez added.