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GRAND RAPIDS, MI – A Florida man is accused of coercing a Michigan teen into sending the man explicit content in what federal prosecutors referred to as a sextortion scheme with potential victims nationwide.

The suspect, 21-year-old Brandon Huu Le, was arraigned on federal charges Wednesday, Jan. 11, inside downtown Grand Rapids’ federal courthouse. The Maitland, Florida man faces single counts of producing child pornography, receiving child pornography, and coercing a minor to engage in sexual activity.

Sextortion involves threats against a victim – including threats to publish or distribute private and sensitive information about someone – if the victim does not provide the perpetrator with sexually explicit images or videos, sexual favors, or money.

Using Snapchat, Le allegedly contacted a 13-year-old Clinton County girl on Aug. 10-11, 2019.

The indictment alleges Le steered the Snapchat conversation to sexual topics and took a screenshot of the sexual portion of the conversation. Le allegedly then threatened to publicly post that conversation online with the victim’s name if the victim did not provide him with sexually explicit photos and material.

“These charges represent serious allegations, and we are moving with all diligence to make our case and protect the public,” said U.S. Attorney Mark Totten, for the Western District of Michigan. “Sextortion is on the rise and represents a real and present danger to every child, teenager, and user of social media.”

The U.S. Attorney’s Office and the FBI are working to identify other individuals, nationwide, who Le may have approached. The U.S. Attorney’s Office believes that Le used the name “Ty” and the following usernames on various social media, messaging, and e-mail accounts:

· Addityyt

· Tyaddinude

· Tyaddibaby

· Tycroneaddi

· tygrazittenudef

Prosecutors ask if you believe that you are a victim in this case, visit here, or contact Victim Coordinator Kathy Schuette at 616-808-2034 or kathy.schuette@usdoj.gov.

“The use of the internet to threaten and manipulate children into producing sexually explicit images, and then threatening to share or publish those images to get the victims to produce more is predatory conduct that is very harmful to minor victims,” said James A. Tarasca, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI in Michigan.

The FBI provided these six tips on how people can protect themselves from sextortion schemes:

1. Be selective about what you share online. If your social media accounts are open to everyone, a predator may be able to figure out a lot of information about you.

2. Be wary of anyone you encounter for the first time online. Block or ignore messages from strangers.

3. Be aware that people can pretend to be anything or anyone online. Videos and photos are not proof that people are who they claim to be. Images can be altered or stolen. In some cases, predators have even taken over the social media accounts of their victims.

4. Be suspicious if you meet someone on one game or app and this person asks you to start talking on a different platform.

5. Be in the know. Any content you create online—whether it is a text message, photo, or video—can be made public. And nothing actually “disappears” online. Once you send something, you don’t have any control over where it goes next.

6. Be willing to ask for help. If you are getting messages or requests online that don’t seem right, block the sender, report the behavior to the site administrator, or go to an adult. If you have been victimized online, tell someone.

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Is there anything better than bonus football?

The Jacksonville Jaguars host the Los Angeles Chargers in what is being called a Super Wild Card Weekend game Saturday at 8:15 p.m. at TIAA Bank Field.

"The Bank" was rocking last weekend as 70,000-plus fans packed the stands to see the Jaguars defeat the Titans en route to an AFC championship.

They'll host their first playoff game since 2017.

The Chargers come into town banged up, with Mike Williams and Joey Bosa both getting injured in the final game. Many have questioned coach Brandon Staley keeping them in a game that had no bearing on their playoff seeding.

The Jaguars are relatively healthy given the time of the season.

Pre-game and halftime acts:Jaguars reveal national anthem, halftime acts for Saturday playoff game against Chargers

Can Trevor Lawrence and the offense rebound from a frustrating performance?

And will the defense be able to come up big again for the Jaguars?

Or will Justin Herbert be able to win his first playoff game in a matchup of dynamic young quarterbacks?

Here's what our experts think.

DEMETRIUS HARVEY

Jaguars beat writer

Jaguars 28, Chargers 24

This could go either way. But, the Jaguars match up pretty well against the Chargers' defense, which could make for a great passing day. We'll see.

Regular season: 6-11

MIKE DiROCCO

ESPN

Jaguars 30, Chargers 27

The Jaguars' defense hasn’t exactly faced great QBs the last three weeks, but it keeps coming up with big plays. They get another one late and advance.

Regular season: 6-11

GENE FRENETTE

Times-Union Sports columnist

Jaguars 31, Chargers 20

This will be a shootout-type game at times and both quarterbacks, Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert, should have moments where they look surgical. Pass protection for Trevor and keeping Joey Bosa out of his face will be critical. The difference is the Jaguars' defense has been a lot more opportunistic lately, getting 11 takeaways in the last five games. With the Chargers allowing an NFL-worst 5.4 yards per rush, Travis Etienne should find a few more running lanes than he did against Tennessee. Another thing I can't get past is the Chargers have a reputation of a team that underachieves in big moments (5-8 since reaching Super Bowl in 1994). A great chess matchup between Jaguars' head coach/play-caller Doug Pederson and Chargers' defensive-minded head coach Brandon Staley.

Regular season: 8-9

GARRY SMITS

Times-Union Sports reporter

Chargers 27, Jaguars 16

I think a fantastic run to the playoffs ends. Unlike week three, Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert can actually take a breath without pain coursing through his ribcage, wide receiver Keenan Allen (32 receptions for 458 yards in six career games against the Jags) will play and their pass rush might play havoc with a Jags offense that seems to have grown a bit stagnant in the past three games.

Regular season: 8-9

JUSTON LEWIS

Times-Union Sports reporter

Jaguars 27, Chargers 20

It was always the Jags.

Regular season: 8-9

CLAYTON FREEMAN

Times-Union Sports reporter

Jaguars 26, Chargers 24

The Jags face a challenge, no doubt about it, against Derwin James, Justin Herbert and a pack of Chargers receivers. After beating L.A. once, can they do it again? The key matchup to watch Saturday night: Travis Etienne and the O-line against a Chargers defense that ranks 28th in the NFL against the rush.

Regular season: 8-9

TIM WALTERS

Jaguars 34, Chargers 28

This one starts out slow but turns into a high-scoring slugfest. The Chargers have grown to 2.5-point favorites and the over-under is 47.5. I think they go over the total points, but I see the Jaguars winning this one. The run game will return to form against a weak run defense a week after being stymied by a solid Titans defense. Trevor Lawrence has a better game, and the defense, after struggling to stop the Chargers' pass game for three quarters, will come up with a big play late in the fourth quarter to help seal the game up. Six games take place this weekend, and the odds of all six favorites winning is improbable. The Jags will be one of those underdogs moving on to the next week.

Regular season: 10-7

Knoxville (Tenn.) IMG Academy three-star wide receiver Brandon Winton Jr. is visiting Penn State on Jan. 14, he announced Wednesday. It will mark his first trip to see the Nittany Lions.

Winton Jr. is the No. 549 overall prospect and No. 80 wide receiver in the 2024 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 79 player in Florida.

On3 rates Winton Jr. higher than other recruiting services, according to the Industry Comparison. Even though he is not ranked in the 2024 On300, Winton Jr. is the No. 63 wide receiver and No. 64 player in Florida.

The 6-foot-0, 180-pound wideout is one of multiple prospects heading to State College. Others are Virginia Beach (Va.) Green Run four-star wide receiver Keylen Adams and Potomac (Md.) Quince Orchard four-star EDGE Jaylen Harvey.

Winton Jr. holds 15 offers. According to the On3 Recruiting Prediction Machine, Miami is leading for his commitment at 35.7%.

RPM was released to the public in December. The On3 engineering group teamed up with Spiny.ai to create the industry’s first algorithm and machine learning-based product to predict where athletes will attend college.

It factors in machine learning, social sentiment, visits and historical trends. However, expert predictions are still a big piece of the RPM equation.

Winton Jr. has an On3 NIL Valuation of $16.4K. The On3 NIL Valuation is the industry’s leading index that sets high school and college athletes’ projected annual value (PAV). The NIL valuation does not act as a tracker of the value of NIL deals an athlete has completed to date. It rather signifies an athlete’s value at a certain moment in time.

Florida football’s 2022 season opener saw the Orange and Blue beat the Utah Utes in front of a sold-out Ben Hill Griffin Stadium on in primetime on ESPN to give Billy Napier his first win as the Gators’ head coach.

The 2023 season opener will see the Gators complete the home-and-home and travel out west. Originally scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 2, the Orlando Sentinel is reporting that the game could be moved to Thursday, Aug. 31, per the contract details.

The Sentinel obtained the contract via a public records request and found out that the document allows for the game to be played on either date. When the SEC’s 2023 schedule was released last September, the game was slated for Saturday.

The flexibility comes down to logistics. By playing on Thursday night, the Gators would be able to spend the night in Salt Lake City and provide more recovery time before Florida’s home opener against McNeese State on Sept. 9. It would also be a safety net in case something prevents the Gators to fly back. on Saturday night. When Utah came to Gainesville last year, their plane had mechanical problems that delayed the team’s departure until 5 a.m. EST Sunday morning.

There is no official word on if the game has been moved. If it is played on Aug. 31, it would be the first Thursday night game Florida plays since Oct. 1, 1992, where the Orange and Blue lost to Mississippi State, 30-6.

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A new face of the frontlines in Gainesville has arrived.

For the second offseason in a row, the Gators have landed one of the best guards on the market to bolster their offensive line heading into the ensuing campaign.

A year ago, when Billy Napier and Co. traveled from Louisiana-Lafayette to Florida, he brought, as Colorado head coach Deion Sanders infamously said, his "Louis bag" with him to plug glaring spots of need. Elite right guard O'Cyrus Torrence was the most notable addition to travel from Bayou to Gainesville as he followed his former coaching staff with the opportunity to prove himself at the SEC level after three top-tier seasons at UL.

The plan Napier, Rob Sale, Darnell Stapleton and others set out for him paid dividends for all parties involved.

His services willed the Gators to boast one of the most consistent rushing attacks in the nation, ranking No. 24 in rushing offense (200.2 yards per game), and established their identity as a run-first unit.

Meanwhile, Torrence continued to dominate despite the uptick in talent he was playing against. He made the most of the added exposure and showcased strength as an all-around player, allowing zero sacks in pass protection with zero penalties called against him all season.

He now heads into the 2023 NFL Draft, widely considered a first-round selection.

However, his departure (along with three other starters leaving) created concerns along the frontlines, given the young, inexperienced and overall thin offensive line group the program sports at this point.

As a result, Florida applied the same approach it reaped the benefits of last offseason, using the blueprint of Torrence as a selling point.

The Gators targeted elite guard prospect Micah Mazzccua, a Baylor transfer with an impressive resume throughout his 20 appearances with the Bears. That includes allowing just one sack and 11 pressures in pass protection — numbers that sit just behind Torrence's zero sacks and eight pressures — to be rated as one of the top guards overall in college football by Pro Football Focus in 2022.

The Philadelphia native also posted the 15th-best run-blocking grade among qualifiers at the position (min. 20% of maximum snaps played by a guard in the FBS) per PFF, showcasing a similarly well-rounded skillset to Torrence that made him so successful at UF.

After an eventful two weeks of his recruiting process — which came down to Auburn, Nebraska and Florida — the trench monster pledged himself to the Gators on Tuesday night and signed on Wednesday.

The impact of his decision spans beyond just another transfer portal addition to Florida this offseason. He's the bonafide X-Factor for the new-look offensive line in 2023 and beyond. He'll highlight the restructured offensive trenches.

And, while it can be difficult to replace an All-American, the experience Mazzccua brings to the table, paired with his elite production as a run blocker and pass protector in two seasons with Baylor (one as a full-time starter), equips him to fill the role Torrence assumed in orange and blue in 2022.

He has big shoes to fill, but the expectations of his services are glowing.

Members of the Florida staff felt that he was the only available candidate to fill the void left behind by Torrence this offseason. Their ability to close on a player of his caliber provides not only a monumental recruiting win to plug the gap, but a multi-year anchor at either guard position as well.

He's the guy on the offensive line now.

The pull isn't a one-player fix to a larger problem that looms in Gainesville, given that several positions remain unaccounted for. Still, Mazzccua's commitment to Florida should not go undervalued. He'll arguably step into the mix next season as the best player on the field for the Gators — outside of Montrell Johnson and Trevor Etienne — the same way Torrence did in 2022.

When he arrives on campus, the 6-foot-5, 331-pounder will immediately slide into one of the vacant starting guard spots — the other going to Richie Leonard IV. Carrying multiple years of experience at left guard, the former Bear will likely align next to the expected starter at left tackle, Austin Barber.

The duo will immediately present a strength up front for the Gators to exploit on the ground and through the air.

Mazzccua's three years of remaining eligibility suggest that he could be in the mix as Florida attempts to ascend the ranks of college football over the next several seasons.

Presenting a rare mixture of size, power, burst, heavy hands and mean streak, he is a game-changing entity for UF as it attempts to build through the trenches to combat the likes of Georgia and Alabama in the SEC in the future. While that's still a distant goal, as the current state of the roster doesn't suggest contention anytime soon, landing Mazzccua puts Florida one step closer to achieving it.

He'll have a chance to prove that while serving in a solidified starting guard role for the Gators starting in 2023. He's not a consensus All-American, but he's a near-perfect fit to fill the void left by one.

Stay tuned to All Gators for continuous coverage of Florida Gators football, basketball and recruiting. Follow along on social media at @AllGatorsOnFN on Twitter and All Gators on FanNation-Sports Illustrated on Facebook.