Feds: Queens child porn defendant posed as girl to lure victims

A Queens man who federal authorities said posed as a 14-year-old girl to trick teenage boys — including two from Nassau County — into sending him nude pictures and videos of themselves via Instagram was arraigned Wednesday on sexual exploitation of a child and other charges.

Kevin Rizo, 28, of Flushing, pleaded not guilty at his arraignment before U.S. Magistrate Anne Shields in federal court in Central Islip, and was ordered held without bail.

He is accused of enticing seven boys, ages 12 to 14, to send him nude pictures and sexually explicit videos of themselves between Oct. 10, 2016, and April 26 by promising to do the same if they sent him theirs first, according to Assistant U.S. Attorney Raymond Tierney and court records. Four of the boys are from Phoenix, Arizona, and one from Canada.

Investigators have identified up to 50 other potential victims in the ongoing investigation, Tierney told the judge. The case came to light when some of the boys’ parents complained to authorities.

Rizo used four different monikers — Alyssarxx, Alysaflxx, Alyssa.rxx, and Ally.love. 15 — to communicate with the seven boys on Instagram, according to the indictment, handed up by a grand jury on May 25.

The two Nassau boys, ages 13 and 14, had initially refused to send nude pictures of themselves to Rizo, who was posing as the teenage girl, but both boys relented after the “girl” threatened to kill herself and threatened to expose them.

Nearly every day since June 2016, the 13-year-old Nassau boy sent nude pictures of himself to Rizo, according to the complaint.

The 14-year-old Nassau boy also sent explicit photos and videos to Rizo on Dec. 1.

If convicted, Rizo faces a minimum of 15 years in prison.

Public defender Randi Chavis said her client has never been convicted of a crime. A couple who Chavis said was Rizo’s family, declined to comment after the arraignment.