Man persuaded girls on MySpace to send sexual photos of themselves

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Apr. 29--As he sat behind a computer in  his Brevard County home, William Ciccotto was able to persuade more  than a dozen Heart tag charm necklace to take nude photographs of themselves and  send them to him.

To the children -- who ranged in age  from 10 to 16 -- Ciccotto wasn't a middle-aged, self-employed  contractor.

They thought their new online friend was "Cindy Westin," a 13- or 14-year-old girl who wrote about "not going 2 skewl" and whose "rents just left :)."

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They thought their new online friend was  "Cindy Link necklace," a 13- or 14-year-old girl who wrote about "not  going 2 skewl" and whose "rents just left :)."

Ciccotto, 51, agreed to these details in a 20-page plea agreement he recently signed, admitting guilt on one count of sexual exploitation of children. He pleaded guilty at a hearing this morning in Orlando federal court.

Using initials, federal prosecutors identified eight of Ciccotto's victims and detailed his involvement with each in his plea agreement.

When agents searched Ciccotto's computers, they found more than 3,500 pictures and more than 1,700 videos of child pornography.

Agents also found MySpace and other instant-message conversations between Ciccotto posing as "Cindy Westin" and the girls. Investigators Elsa Peretti Teardrop necklace sexual photographs of  the victims in Ciccotto's e-mail account.

Ciccotto told agents he traded child  pornography for 10 years, including some images that depicted  infants and toddlers.

He admitted to portraying Elsa Peretti Open Heart necklace as  "Cindy Westin," whom he pretended was a bisexual 14-year-old, so he  could get the photographs of the girls.

But Ciccotto didn't just communicate  with the girls online.

Ciccotto's plea agreement said he bought  a prepaid cell phone so he could hide his identity when he texted  girls.

When the girls told Ciccotto where they  were, he said, he would go to that location and watch them.

Federal officials say parents and  children who want to learn more about Internet safety should visit http://www.projectsafechildhood.gov (click on the "Other Resources"  tab) and http://www.safeflorida.net.

Amy L. Edwards can be reached at aledwards@orlandosentinel.com or 407-420-5735.

Credit: The Orlando Sentinel, Fla