Harry Styles Imposter Arrested for Targeting Girls Online

Man posing as teen heartthrob is nabbed by police in Connecticut on child porn charges

By Josh Grossberg May 31, 2013 6:45 PMTags
Harry StylesCHP/FAMEFLYNET PICTURES

The only direction this guy's going is to jail.

Police in Waterbury Connecticut have confirmed to E! News that a 45-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly posing as One Direction singer Harry Styles in order to entice underage girls into performing sex acts online.

Per the arrest warrant obtained by the Waterbury Republican American, John Eastman used the screen name Harry.Styles888 on Skype as well as photos of the 19-year-old boy bander to persuade the minors to undress and pose naked.

Authorities were put on his trail by parents of three girls who engaged in a web chat with the imposter.

Investigators subsequently interviewed Eastman late last year and he voluntarily handed over his computer. A search turned up more than 500 images of child pornography as well as videos and images of minors, which he took with his webcam.  But before he could be arrested, the purported predator fled the state only to be taken into custody in Virginia on Wednesday by U.S. marshals.

Eastman now faces charges including first-degree possession of child pornography as well as employing a minor in an obscene performance and using a computer to entice a minor.  He's currently being held behind bars in lieu of a $500,000 bond.

The next court date is scheduled for June 6.

—Additional reporting by Lindsay Good