A finance executive was indicted Thursday for allegedly raping a young teenage girl in New York City hotel rooms after finding her on Instagram.
Fifty-four-year-old Michael Olson received a 17-count indictment regarding the abuse, the New York Post reported Thursday, citing the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office.
The charges include several counts of rape in the second degree, criminal sexual act in the second degree, aggravated patronizing of a minor for prostitution in the second degree, criminal sale of a controlled substance to a child, and other charges, per the attorney’s office.
After listing the charges in the case, the attorney’s office noted that, “The investigation, which has revealed similar contact with numerous other children, is ongoing.”
The attorney’s office continued:
According to court documents and statements made on the record in court, in December 2022, OLSON found the 14-year-old girl’s Instagram profile and responded to a post that she made about clothes being too expensive. He sent her a gift card for clothing and began to pay her to spend time with him. Over the next six months, OLSON repeatedly raped the child, paying her approximately $700 a week to engage in sexual conduct in hotel rooms in Queens and Manhattan. He took the child to Las Vegas, Los Angeles, and Miami by purchasing her airfare with her first name and his last name in order to portray her as his daughter.
On May 26, 2023, EMS technicians responded after the child began overdosing in a Manhattan hotel room. The technicians found the girl and OLSON with numerous narcotics present, including ketamine, cocaine, and Xanax. The girl was transported to the hospital – where she recovered – and OLSON was arrested.
According to the Post, Olson was released once he posted $1 million bond. However, he apparently kept trying to contact young girls even though prosecutors said he was on electric monitoring.
Prosecutors also said the teen the suspect was found with was one of several others, specifically Asian girls, the suspect is accused of targeting.
The man, who apparently used to work for Dwight Mortgage Trust, may face additional charges in the case due to the other girls involved.
Prosecutors claim an iPad belonging to Olson showed more victims, and he is also believed to have given drugs to some of them.
Prosecutor John Fuller accused him of having naked images of minors and underage girls performing sexual acts on the device, adding pornography charges may be forthcoming in the case.
Instagram, a platform owned by Mark Zuckerberg’s Facebook, has apparently failed to halt the connection and promotion of accounts linked to the creation and purchase of child porn, Breitbart News reported June 7.
“Researchers claim that Instagram’s algorithms, which were created to link users with similar niche interests, promote these illegal activities. It has been discovered that the platform’s recommendation systems direct users toward explicit content and link content sellers and pedophiles,” the outlet said.
On Thursday, Olson was remanded without bail during arraignment, according to the Post.
Meanwhile, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children says 97 percent of American girls and 95 percent of American boys have access to smartphones, and its website offers tips for adults on how to help young people be safer while using those devices.