South Carolina

Man sent packages to girls at their schools, FBI says

ANDALUSIA, Ala. — The FBI has issued a predator alert for families in the Southeast after prosecutors said unsolicited packages have been sent to elementary-aged girls that were addressed to them in care of their elementary school.

FBI agents investigated who was sending the packages to dozens of girls in the Southeast. So far, about 50 students in several states, including South Carolina, have received the packages.

They contain food and a letter signed by someone named "Atur Bhuck."

In Alabama, the Covington County District Attorney's Office said that two Phenix City girls received the packages.

One mother said her daughter started receiving the packages in December.

"It freaked me out again to know it wasn't isolated,” Jena Willingham said. “She wasn't the only one. There were lots of girls he was doing this to. I think the other kids were getting theirs at school, but ours came to our house."

"Bhuck" wrote he was 14-years-old, mentally disabled and a target of bullying. He asked the girls to reply at two email addresses.

The FBI said one email account appeared to originate from Houston, and that more than 50 similar packages were ordered for minor-age girls in Alabama, South Carolina and Virginia.

Federal agents in the case were able to track down the person responsible -- a 42-year-old man with Asperger’s syndrome.

The FBI determined he was not a credible threat.

Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer Johnathan Frisk runs the department’s Crime Prevention Unit.

“You got to be aware,” Frisk said. “You got to be involved in your children's lives.”

The warning is a reminder for parents.

“You got to make sure you have all their passwords and (are) just being aware,” Frisk said. “Just randomly going in and checking on these sites.”

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