A San Marcos, Texas man who posed as a deaf, non-speaking girl to sexually exploit children now faces life in prison.

Christopher Scott Little, 48, pleaded guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor and was sentenced to life in a federal prison by U.S. District Judge Sean D. Jordan on Monday, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Texas Damien M. Diggs announced Tuesday in a news release from Plano.

Authorities said Little was convicted of crimes against children dating back nearly two decades.

In the most recent case, the court heard that in the summer of 2021, a child in North Texas admitted to being a victim of online blackmail.

The Texas Rangers and the FBI investigated and discovered that Little was targeting the child from his home in San Marcos.

Authorities found that he was communicating with hundreds of people on social media, most of whom appeared to be minors. He told them he was a young girl named “Amber” who was deaf and speechless and therefore unable to video chat.

According to the press release, he coerced and tricked the children into taking nude photos and videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit acts.

While pretending to be Amber, he introduced the children to her cousin “Brandon,” who was Little, and encouraged them to submit themselves sexually to Brandon in order to please her. If they refused, the children were threatened that they and their families would be harmed or even killed.

According to official information, ten children have so far been identified as victims of this plan.

The FBI and the Texas Department of Public Safety investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Miller.