Indicted ex-FBI contractor threatened suicide unless minor boys sent him sexually explicit pics: Feds

Brett Janes contacted roughly a dozen underage boys and asked them for nude photos, federal investigators said. He also shared his government building access badges via a chat in Discord, according to authorities. (mugshot via the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office; access badges from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia)

A former FBI contactor repeatedly begged and threatened suicide unless underage boys sent him sexually explicit photos, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia.

Brett Janes, 26, of Arlington, Virginia, allegedly contacted about a dozen boys over social media apps Discord and Snapchat. Janes is charged with two counts of sexual exploitation of children and production of child sexual abuse material, one count of attempted coercion and enticement, and one count of receipt of child pornography. If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of life in prison.

The investigation began in February 2023 when the parent of a 13-year-old boy in New Jersey contacted law enforcement after learning the boy was talking to an adult male over Discord.

The victim was chatting with a man who was using the screenname “revision#3409,” accorrding to authorities. The man told the boy his name was Brett Janes and was living in Virginia working for an intelligence agency, the complaint said. The boy said he met Janes while playing the game Valorant, a multiplayer tactical shooter game. The boy said Janes asked to play “strip Valorant” which led to the two getting naked, the criminal complaint reviewed by Law&Crime said.