Editor's note: Some viewers may find the details in this story disturbing due to its references to sexual abuse.
A local teen was a victim in a child sexual abuse case that ended with a Virginia Beach man behind bars. Now, she feels ready to share her story.
Last year, News 3's Kelsey Jones spoke exclusively with the girl's mother, who says her daughter was groomed online by Thomas Cervantes. The mother said Cervantes was actually her niece's boyfriend who she saw as a trusted member of her extended family.
It all happened on a device so many kids have: a smartphone. In this case, popular apps that many minors use led 14-year-old Alissa Etters right into the hands of Cervantes, who's now convicted of sexual abuse.
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When they first began messaging, Alissa says she didn't know she was talking to Cervantes. Eventually, she learned it was Cervantes on the other side of the screen.
Their conversations continued and he told Alissa it was okay that they were messaging, she says.
"I knew I wouldn't have ever done that if Tommy hadn't told me it was okay," said Alissa.
She says Cervantes forced her to keep their messages secret.
"Tommy was like, 'I really need you to make sure this stays between us,'" said Alissa.
Alissa says their inappropriate conversations led to him blackmailing her.
"I ended up taking like three or four photos of myself nude at 14 and sending them to this person who was supposedly selling them to other people," Alissa recalled.
She wanted to tell her mom, but he discouraged her from doing so.
"He told me I couldn't tell my mom because it would really mess everything up for his life," she said.
Alissa says she didn't tell her mom about the situation until she was 17.
"I ended up feeling like it was my fault because I didn't say anything sooner," she said.
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Court documents obtained by News 3 show that Alissa wasn't Cervantes' only victim: The documents state that from at least 2020 through March of 2023, Cervantes used social media to manipulate victims.
The documents reveal he posed as "Thomas the turtle" to chat with children and would offer money to a child to get them to take sexual videos of themselves.
If they said no, he would threaten them, the documents say.
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Alissa says the experience took a toll on her mental health.
"I have struggled with depression and severe anxiety because of all of the torment and online torture I was going through. Getting called a slut, getting told they were going to find me, that they were going to take me. That I was going to take these pictures one way or another," she said.
Now at 18 years old, Alissa is slowly but surely taking her power back.
She says therapy has been helpful, and simply having conversations with others, like the one she had with Kelsey during this interview.
During their talk, she told Kelsey she wants to share a critical message with others: "Tell your parents if a random stranger is telling you to send pictures of yourself. Tell your parents if you are getting too close with a family member, that isn't a family member."
Alissa added, "It really goes a long way just to listen to your gut and to listen to what your parents taught you, really. As much as it seems corny, listen to what your parents are telling you."
After we first reported on this story last year, some News 3 viewers reached out to us saying they also fell victim to Cervantes. They were not ready to share their story on camera at the time.
Cervantes was sentenced in April to 35 years in prison after pleading guilty to producing child sexual abuse material. Kelsey put in a jailhouse interview request to hear Cervantes' side, but did not get a response.
