A 46-year-old Brockton man who created a fake online persona pretending to be a teenage boy to convince three minors to send him sexualized images of themselves was sentenced to 15 years in prison on Thursday, according to acting U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts Joshua S. Levy’s office.
Zaire Aquil Lodge pleaded guilty to three counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of receipt of child pornography in January 2024, federal prosecutors said in a statement. Lodge will serve five years of supervised release following his prison sentence.
On several occasions in 2021, Lodge created a fake online persona posing as a teenage boy, which he used to convince three minors to “engage in sexually explicit conduct” and send him sexualized images. He also knowingly received and tried to receive child sexual abuse materials between February and October of that year, according to the statement.
Levy’s office encouraged anyone with questions, concerns or information about Lodge’s case to call 617-748-3274.
