Hicksville Man Admits To ‘Sextorting’ 5 Women, Minor

TAMPA, FL — A Hicksville man has admitted to posting sexually explicit images of five women and a minor on the internet and encouraging people to harass them.

Christopher Buonocore, 34, on Friday pleaded guilty to six counts of cyberstalking in a Florida court. He faces up to 30 years in prison if convicted on all charges.

Buonocore used nude photographs, text messages, fictitious phone numbers and social media accounts to “harass, intimidate, cyberstalk, and attempt to sextort” his victims, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Florida. In one case, he suggested a minor be raped, prosecutors said.

"Buonocore’s harassment campaign involved posting sexually explicit and nude images of the victims to the internet, and personal identifying information such as their phone numbers, addresses, and social media profile names," the U.S. Attorney's Office said in a statement. "Buonocore solicited individuals online, unknown to him, to contact and harass the victims, including, at times, encouraging these individuals to rape a victim or extort additional sexually explicit images from them."

Some women were contacted by strangers notifying them that nude photographs of them with their contact information were placed on the internet and sent to family members, associates and business clients, prosecutors said. Buonocore posted a photo of a minor and sent messages on the social media platform Kik suggesting she be raped, prosecutors said. The minor's parents installed security cameras at their home and informed her school she was in danger, according to court records.

Buonocore also obtained a nude photo of a woman and harassed her, leading her to believe she was being followed, prosecutors said. The woman confronted him using Facebook Messenger, got him to admit what he was doing, and took a screenshot of the conversation to give to law enforcement, according to prosecutors. Another victim also confronted him and asked him to stop, leading him to respond, “ok, it’s done,” according to court records.

Prosecutors said Buonocore inflicted emotional distress on his victims and has been ordered to pay restitution.

Buonocore was born in New Jersey and worked in the construction field, according to his attorney, Brian Bieber, of GrayRobinson in Miami, Florida.

“Chris is extremely remorseful for his criminal conduct," Bieber said in a phone interview. "He’s in intensive therapy and is doing everything humanly possible to right the wrongs of his past. There is no explanation for his conduct, but the explanation lies in the psychological context."

Buonocore's sentencing date has not been set. In addition to 30 years in prison, he also faces a $250,000 fine and one to three years of supervised release.