[suspenseful music]
♪
- You're gonna kill me. - What?
I'd never do such a thing.
Unless you're about to tell me that
your landlord won't let you out of your lease early,
as you assured me he would.
- What's the issue?
- Jamie just got a two-bedroom apartment,
and I was gonna move in.
- Problem solved.
Europol said I could live where I want
while I'm assigned to the Fly Team,
and I decided to stay in Budapest.
I've been in a week-to-week flat with no air con.
So how about after work, I come and have
a gander at your place?
- Let's do application first, gander second.
- Application?
What--my references?
- More of a quiz, like a personality quiz.
- Fine, as long as I can give you one.
- Contentious.
[phone rings]
- Morning. We got a case here. Raines, you want to take it?
- Cybercrime Squad out of WFO.
- Washington Field Office.
- They just got a major case of sextortion.
Unknown suspect has been and is currently posing
as Chet Manning.
Suspect would initiate contact and chat with teen girls
on various social media platforms all across the U.S.,
then steer the teens to download and use
the Signal app in order to continue their communication.
- Now, Signal app is notoriously difficult
to trace and monitor.
- Once he got one compromising photo,
he extorted them for increasingly graphic photos
and videos, or he threatened to distribute
what he already had to their family and friends.
In five cases, he did just that.
- Now, Cybercrime pulled together all complaints
against the Chet Manning alias.
They found out he had victimized
30 teen girls across the U.S.
- And counting.
- Some of the girls were as young as 12.
- The suspect slipped up
and mentioned an online screen name, "MenoKid,"
that he texted to Charlotte Weston,
17, from Tallahassee.
- Charlotte alerted authorities yesterday.
- Cybercrime was able to trace the screen name
to dark web chat room activity based right here in Budapest.
- We need to identify the suspect
and bring him into custody.
He is currently active, so sooner than later.
- Head done to Budapest police, see what they got?
- Yes, me, you, and Raines.
I know the lieutenant there, so no introductions needed.
You can stay here and help Kellett.
- Link up with WFO Cybercrime so we have
a clear channel between us.
- [speaking Hungarian]
- Laszlo. - Scott.
- We're looking into a suspect with a MenoKid screen name
who is from an active here in Budapest.
- Leave it on my desk, and I'll get into it right after lunch.
- We need it now.
This guy's been extorting teen girls back in the U.S.
It's some bad stuff.
Beers on me next time?
And I'll let you win at darts.
- [laughs]
[speaking Hungarian]
♪
- Now? - Yes, now. Go.
[phone ringing]
- Kellett.
Hey, how's it going?
Okay, when?
Yeah, no problem. Thanks for the heads up.
That was WFO Cybercrime.
Charlotte Weston just landed.
- Where? - Here, in Budapest.
They told her the case is with us now,
and apparently, she hopped on a plane to help us out.
- She's only 17.
And she came here by herself?
- Don't get your hopes up. - Why not?
- Cybercrimes are not high priority
with Hungarian law enforcement and prosecutors,
especially when, no offense, potential victims
are in a different country.
- There's a lot of activity from MenoKid
in specific forums,
ones that traded in revenge porn
and underage sexual imagery.
- Another name pops up in one of the screen rooms
MenoKid was in, BlakPenj.
He was arrested.
Real name Andor Molnar, 29.
- Oh, yeah, him.
Prosecuted for possession of child pornography.
- He only spent six months in prison?
- Like I said, don't get your hopes up.
- Where is he now?
- Cleaning graffiti for his community service.
- Hit it.
♪
- Andor Molnar?
Agent Raines and Vo, FBI.
- No speak English.
- We read your file. We know you're fluent.
- Oh.
- Elmehetsz.
- So what do you want?
- MenoKid.
- What about him?
- We want to know who he is.
- Great. Good luck.
- You're gonna help us. - [laughs] No, I'm not.
- One of the conditions of your supervised release
is to provide information to law enforcement.
- To locallaw enforcement.
- Another stipulation of your release
was that you were not allowed to go
within 50 meters of a school.
- That one?
That's closed.
- You can tell that to Lieutenant Lakatos.
- Now hold on. - No, no.
You want to be a tough guy? That's fine.
Let's see how that plays down at the police station.
- All right, all right, all right, all right.
- Who's MenoKid?
- I don't know. It's called a dark web.
- What do you know about him?
- That this guy has a bunch of chat rooms that sells
and trades with pictures, you know, videos of girls,
mostly underage.
Some bad stuff--bad stuff he would make girls do,
stuff I didn't approve of or watch.
- You're a prince.
- Look, you'll never identify this guy.
His chat rooms were invitation only,
using military-grade encryption,
and chat history was set to purge every five minutes.
- He hosted the chat rooms?
- Yeah. - Would he charge for access?
- No. He's not in it for the money.
He provided most of the material he got
from American girls using one of his aliases online.
- One of his aliases? How many does he have?
- 10, 15.
He'd brag about it.
♪
- Hey. - Hey.
- Charlotte Weston just got here.
I was just about to talk to her.
- Where are her parents?
- She says she has extended family out here
in Budapest she's staying with.
- Hey, Raines and Vo are running
some more aliases that MenoKid used
in addition to Chet Manning.
Run those through the Cybercrime database
when they come in? - Will do.
- Here you go.
So?
- I met Chet--
or who I thought was Chet, eight months ago.
- And you were 16?
- Yeah.
He told me that he lived in Huntington Beach, California,
and that he went to a junior college
and that he liked to surf.
[pensive music]
♪
He started flirting with me.
And then that progressed.
Then he asked me to send him sexy photos.
And I sent a few.
And then that progressed.
And then he threatened to send what he did have
to my friends and family unless I sent--
- I understand.
Unfortunately, we know all about how he operated.
And I'm very sorry it happened to you, Charlotte.
- Thanks.
- The MenoKid screen name--
how did you connect that to this Chet?
- He told me.
He was bragging about how many girls he controlled.
I don't know if he just let it slip or what,
but I sent it to the agent at Cybercrimes who I was
in contact with at that point.
- Got it. - Has that been helpful--
the MenoKid connection?
- So far, yes.
- So you're close to identifying him?
- Not yet. These things can take time.
- Okay.
- I appreciate you coming all this way
and being brave enough to come forward to begin with.
- Thanks.
[suspenseful music]
- I need to check in with my team, see where we're at.
Let me know if he tries to contact you again.
- Of course, just as long as I know
that you guys are on this.
- I promise you that we are.
- What's your take on Charlotte?
- Seems strong, determined.
- Okay, here we go.
I ran the other aliases you got from MenoKid.
There are over 200 victims in the U.S.,
all from this same guy.
♪
[phone rings]
- Forrester.
Yeah, put her through.
That was Cybercrime.
Charlotte's mother wants to talk.
[phone rings]
- You're in charge out there?
- I am. Special Agent Scott Forrester.
- Is Charlotte with you? - She is.
In the other room. - I'm her mom, Mimi.
Do not believe her.
She's in a relationship with this creep.
And you're not getting the whole story.
You do not have permission to talk to her.
I'll be out there soon to get her.
Keep her safe, but do not leave her,
and do not use her in your investigation.
♪
- Any idea what that was about?
- No. But I'm gonna find out.
- My mom's crazy.
- So you're not in love with this guy?
- Would I be in an FBI office,
offering to help you catch him
if I was really in love with him?
- Then why does your mother think you are?
[suspenseful music]
- At my lowest point, when I was thinking
some really dark thoughts, I was in a world history class
where we were learning about the hostage crisis in Peru.
It involved what they later called Lima Syndrome,
where the captors began to have sympathy for the captives.
And since I knew that this guy,
wherever the hell on this planet he was,
was most likely just some lonely loser,
my only hope of catching him would be to lure him
into communicating with me more.
So I played it up,
the whole hero worshipping thing,
playing into his ego.
And it started to work.
But then my mom got on my computer
and she read our text exchanges.
And she flipped out thinking that it was real.
- And do you have extended family
you're staying with out here?
- No, I did lie about that.
But it's just because I didn't want
you guys to worry about me.
- Well, your mom exerted her right as a parent
and prohibited us from working with you since you're a minor.
- In Florida, I am,
but not in Hungary.
I looked it up before I left. I am an adult here.
- You're half right, but this team is guided
and held accountable by U.S. law.
- Please?
You don't know what this guy took from me.
- Okay.
We hear you.
Can we read the communication you saved
between you and Chet so maybe we can ID him
or find his location, anything that you may have missed?
- Yeah. It's just--
well, it's kind of embarrassing
because it looks like I like him, which I don't.
♪
- Any chance she's legit on the hook with this guy
and is here to pump us for information?
Because this reads pretty authentic.
- She's saying it was all contrived on her end.
- Well, Buster Hernandez, a couple of years back,
an internet extortionist from Bakersfield,
he forced one of his 300 victims
to attend a community forum dedicated to Hernandez's
crimes and report back to him.
- Okay, just to be safe,
let's take all the info off the monitors.
- I've been tracking MenoKid online.
He's always hidden behind an anonymous proxy or Tor site,
making the identification of his IP address
almost impossible without some help.
- I believe her.
She's basically me at 17.
Crazy mom, headstrong,
dealing with some heavy stuff on my own--
she wants to help, needs to help.
- Fine.
But even if she is okay with it, are we?
Are we pushing her toward something
she's trying to get away from?
How deep is her trauma already?
Are we adding to it?
- For her to come this far and then for us to pull the rug,
I think that would add to her trauma.
- Fair enough.
- This guy's in play right now.
If we're gonna make a move, we need to make it.
- Let's do it then. - What about her mom?
- I'll take the heat.
- If you send a text, does he usually reply?
- Yes.
- If you attach a video, nothing provocative,
just a regular video, does he usually watch it?
- Yes.
- Okay, so I'm going to need you to film a video,
couple seconds long, then I'm gonna attach the malware to it
so that when he opens it,
we can locate his real IP address.
- What's the video supposed to be of?
- It's whatever you want.
♪
- He likes my boots.
- I'm gonna drop it to my account and send it back.
- You all right?
- Yeah.
- Okay.
- Okay, I just cloned your phone,
so we have it in our bullpen in case he tries to contact you.
I just sent it back to you. Go ahead and text it to him.
- Do I add a message or anything?
- Whatever you'd normally do.
♪
- I've been monitoring MenoKid.
He just popped into a dark web chat room.
The topic in this room is grim.
- All right, I just sent out Charlotte's text and I added--
[notification chimes]
- What's up?
- Chet just responded to Charlotte's text
and opened the video.
- He took the bait. He's across town.
We're moving in.
- It worked.
We got his IP address.
- Oh, my God.
- He's online in the chat room right now.
We need to get his laptop out of his hands quickly.
He can't have time to hit the kill code
and wipe the hard drive 'cause then we have nothing.
- Let's move in.
♪
- [screams]
What the hell's going on?
- No one comes to mind? Former employee?
Weirdo who always hangs out here?
- No.
I mean, I barely have any customers,
and then this happens.
Maybe it's a sign I need to pack it up.
[suspenseful music]
♪
- Her name's Maya Langhorne from Pittsburgh.
Her mom's Hungarian, and she's out here taking care of her.
Just took over the bar and had her friend
do the computer system-- poorly, it turns out.
MenoKid must have logged on to the bar's Wi-Fi,
took control of her network equipment,
and routed his internet traffic through here.
- We're sure she's not MenoKid or a co-conspirator?
- She gave me full access to her laptop,
and unless spending hours looking for a cute bag
on Shopbop is a crime, I mean, she's clean.
- There's a decent shot since he was using the Wi-Fi
that he might live nearby.
So our search radius just shrunk.
♪
- Okay, got it.
They didn't get him.
- [sighs]
- Hey, if this is all too much for you, just tell me.
We'll take it from here.
- I won't stop until he's behind bars.
- All I needed to hear.
[cell phone beeps] [charlotte gasps]
- It's him.
"Are you working with the police"?
- Just deny it.
♪
[cell phone beeps]
He just responded.
"Then prove it.
Send me a video right now, full nude."
What do I do?
- Don't respond until I get back.
Chet just asked if she's working with the police.
Wants her to send a nude video to prove she's not.
I'm not sure how long we can put him off.
- Hold up, why is he asking about the police right now?
Someone tipped him off about the tavern.
- Or he was watching the place and saw us move in.
I'm gonna look into any suspects
that live within a mile radius who fit the profile.
- There were new security cameras installed, right?
- Right.
- Maybe he hacked into them,
was monitoring who was coming and going.
- Okay, but how do we respond to his threat?
- I have an idea.
- He texted again--
"Send the video or I release all of your other stuff
to everyone you know."
- Push back.
In reading your interaction with him,
it seems like he downshifts when you put him in his place.
Okay, that's indicative of someone
with narcissistic personality disorder
who also has victim mentality.
- Relax.
I'm not working with the police.
Will send video when I'm home.
Sent.
If it is the last thing I do, I am going
to bury this son of a bitch.
[cell phone beeps]
[gasps]
- What did he say?
- It's my mom.
She just landed.
- Scott?
- Yeah.
- You were right-- someone hacked into
the security camera system at the tavern.
Looks like it was our suspect and he saw us earlier.
- He let his guard down on this one,
and I was able to track where the hack came from:
37 Dagaly Street, three blocks from the tavern.
- Hell, yes!
♪
[both speaking Hungarian]
- Do you speak English? - Yes.
- Does anyone else live here?
- My son. - How old is he?
- 23. Why?
- Is he home? - No, he's out.
What's going on? What's going on?
[arguing in Hungarian]
♪
- Get the mom.
- [speaking Hungarian]
- [speaks Hungarian]
- You have a key? - No.
My son has expensive equipment and doesn't want it stolen.
- Excuse me. Gents.
♪
[beeping]
- What's going on?
- Kill switch.
It's gone. All of it.
♪
- The kill switch encrypted the system to access the data.
We'll either need the key from MenoKid
or 200 years to try and crack in.
- He's a good boy.
He's just shy and keep to himself.
- When did he leave? - Hour ago.
- He has a job? - No.
- Friends he hangs out with? - No, and that's the problem.
That's why he's on the computer all the time.
No friends, but he's a good boy.
- No, he's not.
[suspenseful music]
- MenoKid, AKA Chet Manning, is Deco Horvath.
His mom can't get ahold of his cell.
- I can get this photo out to all of my officers, citywide.
- Not yet.
- Horvath is out there, most likely with just
his cell phone.
Putting his photo out to the local police--
that is our last resort.
We need the element of surprise when apprehending him.
If the cops approach him, he may have time
to clear whatever he has.
So we need his cell phone
and hope he has incriminating evidence on it.
- Best chance then is for Charlotte to film
another video clip with malware on it.
He opens it on his phone, we'll have his location.
- He knows we're after him.
He was probably alerted on his phone
that we tripped the kill switch at his apartment.
Why would he open another clip and continue
to communicate with her?
- Because he's in love with her.
I mean, it's all right there in the text.
She played him, perfectly.
[computer chimes]
♪
- Charlotte's mom's here.
- Where's my daughter?
- She's right in there. Come on in.
We'll give you a full update and explanation.
[whispering] Here, let me get that for you.
She's in there, ma'am.
- Here we go.
- Oh, my God.
Sweetie, are you okay?
- I'm fine. - You should have told me.
You know you can tell me anything, right?
Get your bag.
I got a nice room at a hotel downtown.
- I'm staying here until we catch this guy.
- I thought I was clear.
- Your daughter's been incredibly brave.
Because of her assistance, we are very close
to finding the man who victimized her
and many other young women.
- Do you know about their texts?
- We do. Charlotte was conning him.
- Oh, okay, you're the experts.
Let's go.
- I'm not leaving.
- Hey, I didn't fly ten hours for you
to start giving the attitude.
- Then go home.
You're gonna screw all of this up.
- Charlotte, what do you want to do?
- Help. I want to help.
- Then that's what we're gonna do.
- Charlotte, we need you to film one more clip for him
so we can attach the malware.
- Another clip?
- [scoffs] I can't deal with her right now.
- Ma'am, I'm gonna need you to wait in the other room.
- This is sick--sick.
- Maybe tell him--
- I know just what to say.
- Okay.
♪
- Hey, I have a surprise for you.
I'm in London.
I don't know why, but I've always had this hunch
that you lived somewhere in Europe.
My mom is kind of freaking out right now
because I left without her permission, but oh, well.
I want to see you.
- Good job.
You all right?
- Yeah. Just need a second.
- What's up?
- [sighs]
Sometimes, this just gets to be too much.
We can't go for a jog in the morning.
Can't walk from the gym to our car.
Can't trust a drink at a bar.
I mean, we can't even have a conversation
with a guy thinking it's actually just innocent.
We can't really do anything without rolling the dice
because there's always some creep out there
waiting to try and leave a scar.
And you learn to deal with it.
But then you see someone like Charlotte.
She's 17.
Does her whole life pivot now because of this scumbag?
I mean, where does she go? Who does she trust?
- I know.
But we keep moving forward.
- We've gotta catch this guy.
I mean, I've gotta catch this guy.
♪
[computer beeps] - He just responded.
- He wrote, "You're a liar."
- He opened the video.
We've got a location.
- She doesn't need another obstacle right now.
- Do you have kids of your own? - I don't.
- Okay, then.
I don't think I need your advice.
Thank you very much.
- All right, let's split up.
[indistinct chatter]
♪
[tense music]
♪
- South exit!
[people yelling]
[car horn honking]
♪
- [yelling in Hungarian]
- [grunts]
[sobbing]
[screams]
[sobbing]
- Where to?
- London.
- Yeah.
- Horvath cleared most everything from his phone,
but he kept all correspondence and imagery from Charlotte.
- Enough to cook him? - To a crisp.
- It gives me great pleasure to inform you that you're gonna
be charged with the production of child pornography,
coercion, enticement of a minor,
and cyber stalking.
You victimized a lot of young women
back in the United States,
so it's only appropriate that you get tried,
prosecuted, and incarcerated back in the United States.
We have an agreement already set in place
with the Hungarian authorities for your extradition.
- I have a very attractive offer to make you...
[tense music]
Under one condition.
- I feel weird putting this decision on her.
- I think she's shown she can handle
some tough conversations.
♪
We got him.
- Did he confess?
- He will.
- He's claiming, and we're inclined to believe him,
that he knows the identities of the other men who were
in his chat rooms, others who have been
and currently are extorting American girls
and trading and selling those images.
If he gets us these men and we are able to arrest them,
Horvath wants a lesser sentence,
and he wants to serve it in Hungary.
- How long would he get?
- We don't know.
Probably not as much as if we took him back to the U.S.
and charged him with what he did to you.
- If you can bring justice to other girls out there,
then it's not even up for debate.
- All right, then.
- But I do want one thing--
to speak to him, face to face.
♪
- We're into his files.
- Okay, I do not need to see this right now.
- Okay, take a break.
- How is Charlotte?
- Don't say her name again.
- We got 15 names, 3 here in Budapest.
Arrest warrants are being drawn up.
- You can talk to him now if you want.
- I do. I'm ready.
- Raise your hands.
We need to make sure you don't have a weapon.
- I wish.
♪
- Charlotte's gonna walk in here.
She's gonna say what she wants to say,
and you're gonna listen.
- And I don't want you to say one word.
You understand?
- Every person has to go through a crucible
and hope that they make it to the other side intact.
You were mine.
And I wouldn't wish it on anybody.
But as you can tell,
here I am, still standing.
And when I walk out that door,
I am leaving you and the past year behind.
You can have it.
You can hold it tight like an anchor
and sink to the bottom of the ocean for all I care,
because my future starts now.
And you're not touching it.
- Charlotte-- - What did I say?
- You never--
- What did I say?
Not another word.
♪
- You okay?
- Come here.
- [sobbing]
[intense music]
♪
[sirens wailing]
[officers shouting]
- Thank you for all your help, Charlotte.
- Of course.
- Before you leave...
This is where the rest of your life began.
- I love it.
- If you're ever up for it, the bureau has a thing
called the Victim Witness Advocacy Program,
and you could be a huge help for other girls
who got conned by this guy and others like him.
A lot of girls are hesitant to talk to an adult
or feel ashamed or judged.
You could help them heal, if you want.
- 100%.
- I could sure use a drink.
- I know just the place.
- Cheers. - Cheers.
[upbeat music playing]
- Okay, what is my in with Kellett?
- In terms of? - Being her flatmate.
I need you to give me insider info.
- How should I know?
Did you tell her about me and Jamie?
- No.
Maybe.
Look, I cannot sit on gossip that juicy.
You need to get to know me, okay?
- Cam! [laughter]
- I appreciate you coming back and the business.
- Come on, this place is a home run.
- And again, I'm sorry my Wi-Fi was such a mess.
- No, no. No apologies needed.
You just need to get it secured.
- Can you recommend someone who can do that?
- Sure--me.
- You're hired. [phone ringing]
- Okay, so I guess we should discuss my rates.
- I think I deserve a discount.
- I'll see what I can do.
- Everything all right?
- Yeah.
I just realized that I never said thank you when I left.
So I wanted to say that.
- Hey, can I tell you something?
- Okay.
I wish my sister had been as strong as you were.
And I just want you to know how much--
how much you've done for--
for girls like her.
- That means a lot.
[pensive music]
- You take care of yourself, Charlotte.
- You, too, Jamie.
[phone chimes]
♪
[tense music]
♪
[wolf howls]