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In 2015, the FBI arrested and charged New Jersey- based therapist Elliot Halberstam with three counts of sexual enticement and exploitation of a minor and receipt of child pornography. The arrest was widely reported at the time.
The charges alleged that Halberstam had groomed one of his clients, then a 16 year old boy, who he had been seeing since 2011. He manipulated the boy who had hopes of becoming a model, and created a fake email address to convince the boy that he was in fact a lawyer who would help him break into the modeling industry. He coerced the boy to engage in sexually explicit behaviors with him, which he sometimes filmed in a hotel room he had rented. He also coerced the victim to send him pornographic images and videos from the victim.
In July 2018, Halberstam pled guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity.
On February 28, 2019, Halberstam was sentenced to 13 years in prison.