A former Navy sailor was arraigned in U.S. District Court in Hartford Monday on charges that he enticed minors to perform sexual acts during online video chats and threatened to publicize the videos.

Adam M. Simpson, 28, a former member of the U.S. Navy stationed in Groton, has been incarcerated since January 2014, when Connecticut State Police charged him with possession of child pornography following a search of his apartment in Navy housing.  Simpson is originally from Coal Township, Pa., according to court documents.

On March 24, 2015, a federal grand jury sitting in New Haven returned an indictiment charging Simpson with enticing minors to perform sexually explicit acts during online video chats, and receipt and possession of child pornography.

According to the indictment, between January and November 2013, Simpson engaged in video chats with minors using online video chatting services such as Skype and Omegle. During the chats, he enticed the minors to perform sexual acts and engage in sexually explicit conduct, which he recorded, saved on his computer, and then shared with others.　

In order to deceive and entice the minors, Simpson sometimes posed as a young boy. He also coerced minors to perform more sexual acts for him by threatening to publicly release their sexually explicit videos, according to the indictment.　

In addition, the indictment alleges that Simpson possessed a collection of child pornography, which he downloaded over the Internet onto his computer.

If convicted, he faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison.

The case is being investigated by the Connecticut State Police Computer Crimes Unit, the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut Child Exploitation Task Force, which includes federal, state and local law enforcement agencies. The U.S. Naval Criminal Investigative Service is assisting.

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Neeraj N. Patel as part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.