An Ohio-based man named Nicholas Ranieri has been arrested by the FBI after reportedly buying young players games and gaming items in return for sexual acts through Zoom.
Now, the FBI has revealed they arrested a 27-year-old player from Minford, Ohio after he reportedly offered young players to send them games and gaming items if they performed sexual acts for him.
Man arrested for child pornography on young Fortnite players
The Sheriff of Scioto County in Ohio said in a statement to local media that his office was contacted by the FBI, who were investigating a case involving 27-year-old Nicholas Ranieri,Scioto County Daily Newsreports.
According to investigators, Ranieri was targeting underage males by playing Fortnite and other online games. He would reportedly offer to buy the boys games and gaming items if they performed sexual acts via Zoom, and watched him do the same.
Scioto County SVU worked with the FBI to identify the out-of-state victim and then served a search warrant at Ranieri’s home, where detectives seized gaming systems, computers, and cell phones.
Nicholas Ranieri was subsequently arrested and charged with multiple felonies, including pandering obscenity involving a minor and disseminating material harmful to a juvenile.
He is currently being held on a $125,000 bond in the Scioto County Jail. The investigation, the sheriff’s office said, is still ongoing and could result in additional charges.
Alice Sjöberg is an Evergreen Specialist on Dexerto’s UK team, focusing on Entertainment content. She is an NCTJ qualified journalist, providing expert coverage of trending, viral news from X/Twitter, YouTube, and TikTok. Alice also has bylines at The Mirror, MSN, Daily Express, OK! Magazine, and The Chronicle. You can contact her at: alice.sjoberg@dexerto.com
