A George Mason University administrator videotaped a sexual encounter with a 17-year-old, then demanded $10,000 to keep the tape secret from the youth's parents, the boy testified in Fairfax County court Feb. 1.
"He was willing to show [the tape] to my parents, in order to out me to them," the youth testified. "He said I had to pay him off not to do that."
Ronald J. Sinacore was associate director of GMU's Office of Equity and Diversity Services. Police searched his residence and office at GMU and found dozens of videotapes, The Washington Post reported. Officials charged him with manufacturing and possessing child pornography.
Sinacore's tapes showed him having sex with six others, at least three of them juveniles, according to prosecutors. They appeared not to be aware that they were being taped. Many of the youths found Sinacore through Internet "personals" Web sites.
Police also charged Sinacore with extortion after they interviewed a boy who said Sinacore demanded money to keep the tape from the boy's parents. Detectives tracked the boy down using information from Sinacore's computer.
After the charge, Sinacore fled to Northern Virginia, and police located him in a Washington hotel after he tried to commit suicide.
