'Stench of evilness': Milwaukee man sentenced to 3 years in prison in sextortion case

MILWAUKEE (WITI) -- A Shorewood teenager who stalked and bullied his high school classmates online will spend the next three years in state prison.

On his way to the defendant's chair, Matthew Cullen-Williams, 19, flashed a smile at his sentencing on Friday, Jan. 18. But to his former classmates at Shorewood High School, there is nothing to smile about.

Judge Joseph Wall described how Cullen-Williams used fake social media accounts to trick his own friends into sending nude photos and videos of themselves.

Cullen-Williams then used the images as leverage to coerce at least one of the victims into sexual intercourse — a crime commonly known as sextortion.

A FOX6 investigation in 2015 showed just how prevalent it is. After our stories, state lawmakers updated state statutes to ensure sextortion is a crime. But it is still just a Class I felony — with a maximum sentence of a year and a half in prison.

Judge Wall gave Cullen-Williams one year on each of three separate counts — three years in all.

“What comes from all this is actually a stench of evilness,” the judge said.

After serving three years of confinement in state prison, Cullen-Williams will be placed on extended supervision for another six years. He also has a three-year probation sentence that starts when everything else is complete.