Man gets nearly six years in fake celeb cyberstalking case

UNITED STATES

CONCORD, N.H. (AP): Authorities say a man who pretended to be the brother of Miley Cyrus to entice a 14-year-old child to send him sexually explicit photos and videos online has been sentenced to nearly six years in federal prison.

Twenty-two-year-old Brandon Gray, of New Hampton, New Hampshire, was sentenced Monday on charges of possession of child pornography and cyberstalking.

Court documents say Gray pretended to be Brandon Cyrus, who appeared in "Hannah Montana" and "The Hunger Games." Gray met the teen on the internet, who sent Gray the images from 2014 to 2016.

Eventually, the teen discovered that the online persona was fake and attempted to stop communicating with Gray, who sent him harassing texts, emails, and chats.

A search warrant executed at Gray's home found child pornography images and videos. Authorities said Gray admitted to using the alias.