Man pleads not guilty to sextorting Honolulu girl, 13

A 24-year-old Arizona man pleaded not guilty today to allegations that he sextorted a 13-year-old Honolulu girl for more than a year using sexually explicit photos and Instagram direct messaging.

Dustin Hill, 24, was indicted May 16 on a single count of sexual exploitation of a child. He was originally charged by criminal complaint on April 24 with the production/attempted production of child pornography.

He entered a not-guilty plea today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Rom A. Trader, according to federal court records. He is scheduled to stand trial at 9 a.m. Aug.5 before Chief U.S. District Judge Derrick K. Watson.

Hill is in custody at the Federal Detention Center in Honolulu ahead of a detention hearing scheduled for June 10 in Trader’s court.

Hill lived in Hawaii until moving with his parents to Arizona in about 2017.

From Nov. 2, 2020, through Nov. 15, 2021, Hill allegedly convinced a 13- year-old girl “to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct and for the purpose of transmitting a live visual depiction” of the behavior, according to the indictment.

Hill, who allegedly used more than 100 In­stagram accounts, Hill’s alleged victim, who was 13 when she knew Hill, told federal agents she virtually “met” Hill when he “found and began following her on Instagram,” which led to direct messaging between the two on the social media platform.