PlayStation Sex Crime: Criminal Used Video Game to Get Girl's Naked Pictures

March 13, 2009 — -- Prosecutors in Houston say they have tracked down and arrested a man who allegedly committed an online sex crime -- though technically he didn't even have a computer.

All he needed, the prosecutors say, was a game console -- a Sony PlayStation 3. They allege that the man, Anthony Scott Oshea of Somerset, Ky., persuaded an 11-year-old girl in Houston to e-mail nude pictures of herself from her PlayStation to his.

Oshea was taken into custody this afternoon by local police near his home. Houston authorities say they will try to bring him to Texas for trial.

"People don't realize how the PlayStation is like a regular computer," said Eric Devlin, the Harris County, Texas, prosecutor who has been leading the case. The suspect, Devlin said, "threw his old computer out because he didn't need it."

Devlin said this is the first time his office has pursued a sex crime case involving a gaming console. His office is charging Oshea, 24, with three felony counts, including online solicitation of a minor and promotion of child pornography. One charge carries a maximum sentence of 99 years in prison.

"He 'groomed' the child for quite a long time," said Devlin. "He befriended her and pestered her for pictures, being a friend and pestering her at the same time."

Having gotten her to send him the pictures, Oshea then e-mailed them to people in at least five other states -- all through his console, Devlin charges.

"We didn't know how much you can do -- and we're geeks," said Devlin.

The PlayStation, like its major competitors, the Microsoft Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii, is just as capable of online access as any conventional computer with a screen, keyboard and mouse. (A keyboard can, in fact, be plugged in.) Many parents may not realize how quickly the Internet's reach has spread.

Law enforcement officials say the reach of sexual predators has spread as well. As young people play more and more online games, predators join in -- and some are very good at using kids' lingo in gaming messages to sound friendly.

"This should not shock anybody," said Ernie Allen, president of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. "Those who prey upon children go to where the children are."

"They try to get their confidence," he said. "This is a way to get close to them."