Brad D. Schimel, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, announced on April 13 that a federal grand jury returned a three-count indictment against Chandan M. Bhangale, age 29. The charges include two counts of attempted sexual exploitation of minors from the Fox Valley region and one count of cyberstalking.
Bhangale was a graduate student studying computer science at Colorado State University and is originally from Pune, Maharashtra, India. He is legally present in the United States on a student visa.
According to court records, Bhangale allegedly targeted minors through social media and online messaging platforms to groom and extort them. Authorities say he gained their trust, collected personal information, induced them to produce child sexual abuse material (CSAM), and then used blackmail to coerce compliance with his demands. It is further alleged that he threatened victims with consequences such as public disclosure of explicit videos or harm to themselves or family members if they did not comply. Through this manipulation, Bhangale allegedly coerced victims into self-harm, cutting their own hair, and producing CSAM.
If convicted on either count of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, Bhangale faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in federal prison per count. The cyberstalking charge carries up to five years in prison.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including the Outagamie County Sheriff’s Office; Federal Bureau of Investigation offices in Denver, Milwaukee, and Green Bay; Appleton Police Department; Colorado State University Police Department; Hortonville Police Department; and Wisconsin Department of Justice – Division of Criminal Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Alex Duros will prosecute the case.
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the U.S. Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online through coordination among federal, state, and local resources.
Officials remind that an indictment is only a charge: “The defendant is presumed innocent and is entitled to a fair trial at which the government must prove him guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.”
