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United States Attorney’s Office

District of Oregon

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Public Affairs Officer

December 12, 2022 Phone: (503) 727-1000
USAO-OR.gov | @USAO_OR USAOR.PublicAffairs@usdoj.gov

Washington State Man Charged with Production of Child Pornography and

Enticement
EUGENE, Ore.—A Tacoma, Washington man is facing federal charges after he allegedly used
social media to find young girls and convince them to produce and send him sexually explicit
photos and videos and engage in self-harm.
On November 17, 2022, a federal grand jury in Eugene returned an indictment charging Brandon
Kuper, 20, with production of child pornography and enticement.
According to court documents, Kuper, operating under the username “Merqzs”, used Discord
and Snapchat, two social media messaging applications, to find an unknown number of young
girls and convince them to produce and send him sexually explicit photos and videos. Kuper
threatened to harm his victims’ families or post sexually explicit photos of them online if they
did not comply with his demands. In several instances, Kuper further asked his victims to cut his
social media username, “Merqzs”, into their skin, photograph it, and send him the photos.
Kuper made his initial appearance in federal court today before a U.S. Magistrate Judge. He was
arraigned, pleaded not guilty, and detained pending a jury trial scheduled to begin on February
14, 2023.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with assistance from the
Bend Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Amy Potter and John Brassell are prosecuting
the case.
An indictment is only an accusation of a crime, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and
until proven guilty.
Anyone who has information about the physical or online exploitation of children are
encouraged to contact HSI at (866) 347-2423 or submit a tip online at report.cybertip.org.
Federal law defines child pornography as any visual depiction of sexually explicit conduct
involving a minor. It is important to remember child sexual abuse material depicts actual crimes
being committed against children. Not only do these images and videos document the victims’
exploitation and abuse, but when shared across the internet, re-victimize and re-traumatize the
child victims each time their abuse is viewed. To learn more, please visit the National Center for
Missing & Exploited Children at www.missingkids.org.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May
2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation
and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit
www.justice.gov/psc.
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