Turks and Caicos man charged in alleged sextortion operation with Missouri teen pleads not guilty in St. Louis court

A 23-year-old Turks and Caicos man, Alexander Gardiner, has been arrested on charges stemming from an alleged sextortion scheme involving a Missouri teenager. The disturbing incident has led to a grand jury indictment in U.S. District Court in St. Louis on May 22, 2024, charging him with coercion and enticement of a minor.

After being taken into custody at Miami International Airport on August 8, 2024, Gardiner appeared in a St. Louis court yesterday, where he entered a not guilty plea. His arrest highlights the global reach of U.S. authorities in intercepting such exploitation. U.S. Attorney Sayler A. Fleming stressed that “while many perpetrators seeking to exploit and blackmail minors do so from abroad, we will not let borders stop us from stopping sextortion and seeking justice,” the Justice Department article said.

Gardiner is charged in his indictment with attempting to entice a minor into sexually explicit conduct between September 24, 2018, and June 30, 2023. This heinous act describes the abuse of social media to exploit the vulnerabilities of young people. He allegedly coerced the Missouri teen into sending sexually explicit images and threatened to distribute them unless a ransom was paid. He then allegedly posted an explicit video on social media.

Additional evidence from Gardiner’s iCloud account suggests there may be other victims, including images of other teens. He used a variety of screen names, including noahmonn on Snapchat and algardiner33 and algardiner22 on Google. These allegations reveal how predators exploit the anonymity of the internet. However, the charges do not constitute proof of guilt, and each defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty. If convicted of enticement, the sentence ranges from a minimum of 10 years to life in prison.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation, along with the Royal Turks and Caicos Islands Police Force, conducted the investigation, while Assistant District Attorney Jillian Anderson is prosecuting the case. The case falls under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort initiated by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse by pooling resources to more effectively locate and bring to justice those who commit such crimes against children.

Authorities encourage individuals who may have been the target of sextortion or have knowledge of such crimes to immediately contact law enforcement or the FBI, emphasizing the FBI’s dedication through comments from Special Agent in Charge Ashley T. Johnson of the FBI St. Louis Division, “Investigating sextortion is one of the top priorities in the FBI’s Violent Crimes Against Children program,” the U.S. Department of Justice announcement said. For assistance in reporting and managing sextortion cases, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children offers extensive resources and guides for both victims and their caregivers.