A Beaverton man believed to have worked as a private tutor locally will spend 15 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting a 16-year-old girl online, the U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon announced Wednesday, July 29.
Erlend Secret Vikar, 41, also known by his previous legal name Joshua Evan Huff, was sentenced in U.S. District Court after pleading guilty on April 27 to sexual exploitation of children. On top of the prison term, he faces 30 years of supervised release and owes $3,000 in restitution to the victim.
The sentencing comes weeks before the Beaverton School District's 2026–27 school year begins Tuesday, Aug. 25.
How the exploitation unfolded
Court documents show Vikar met his victim on Reddit around November 2022 and moved the conversation to Discord, according to KPTV. The girl lived in Germany. Over roughly nine months, Vikar gained her trust, sent her pornographic material, then coerced her into sending explicit photos and videos back. The U.S. Attorney's Office said many of the videos were made "according to his requests."
He also forced the victim to contact other men online.
Vikar was arrested in October 2024 in Cloverdale, Virginia. A federal grand jury in Portland indicted him Nov. 19, 2024, on two counts: coercion and enticement of a minor, and sexual exploitation of children.
"Internet crimes that exploit children are deplorable and lead to long-term impacts to the children who are targeted and victimized," U.S. Attorney Scott E. Bradford said in a statement. "Today's 15-year sentence reflects that seriousness."
Private tutors not subject to state background checks
No specific tutoring agency or school connection has been named in Vikar's case. But unlike public school teachers, private tutors hired independently by families have not been required to undergo criminal background checks under Oregon law, KATU reported in 2019. It is unclear whether that requirement has changed since.
Families hiring private tutors can take several steps on their own: run a criminal history search, check the sex offender registry, verify identity through a Social Security number trace, and call references. Verifying education and work history adds another layer.
Online safety resources for local families
BSD provides internet safety instruction to students and offers parents a portal to Lightspeed, the district's filtering software, to monitor their child's online activity.
The district's digital curriculum page links to Common Sense Media, National PTA digital safety guides, and the FBI's Safe Online Surfing Challenge.
The pattern in this case mirrors what the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children documents nationally: an adult builds trust on a public platform, shifts to private messaging, then escalates to coercion.
NCMEC's CyberTipline received 21.3 million reports in 2025, including 1.4 million online enticement reports, a 158% jump from 2024.
Families who suspect online exploitation can report it 24 hours a day at report.cybertip.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678. The DHS Know2Protect Tipline is also available at 1-833-591-KNOW (5669).
