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Man posing as 15-year-old dupes other man to send nude pics; both charged

Posted at 4:38 PM, Jun 28, 2018
and last updated 2018-06-28 16:38:23-04

Harrison Township police say two men are in custody for several charges after one man posed as a 15-year-old girl and convinced the other man to send him nude photos, which he then posted on social media.

According to the Macomb County Sheriff's Office, 39-year-old Garrett McMahan, who works for U.S. Customs and Border Protection, called police saying that 32-year-old Josh Pringle was posting inappropriate photos of him on social media. The photos were allegedly of McMahan's genitalia which McMahan thought he was sending to an underage girl.

After investigating, deputies found that McMahan once dated Pringle's ex-girlfriend, so Pringle set up a fake Facebook profile saying he was a 15-year-old girl. Using fake pictures, he requested McMahan as a friend and then the two became friends on Snapchat. That's when McMahan sent pictures of his nude genitalia to what he believed to be a 15-year-old girl.

The investigation was submitted to the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office, who charged both men. 

Pringle was charged with one count of Attempted Unlawful Posting of a Message and he pleaded guilty to the misdemeanor and was sentenced to 12 months of probation and a fine.

McMahan was sentenced to one count of children - accosting for immoral purposes, a 4-year felony, and one count of using a computer to communicate with another to commit a crime, a 10-year felony. He was arraigned on Thursday and given a $100,000 bond.