New Jersey man sentenced to 30 years in prison for production of child pornography
NEWARK, N.J. — A Newark, New Jersey, man was sentenced Thursday in federal court to 360 months in prison for sexually abusing two girls and recording the conduct on his cellphone. This sentencing resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Justin Kinney, 26, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler to an indictment charging him with two counts of producing child pornography.
According to court documents, authorities executed a search warrant Oct. 25, 2012 on Kinney's laptop computer and cellphone, which revealed several files of child pornography that appeared to be taken with Kinney's cellphone. Kinney admitted that two of the images were taken by him while he sexually abused two girls.
"Through cases like this, our agents continue to rescue and save children from the tragic world of child exploitation by seeing that justice is carried out against their perpetrators to the fullest extent of the law," said Acting Special Agent in Charge Kevin Kelly, HSI Newark.
In addition to the prison term, Judge Chesler sentenced Kinney to a lifetime term of supervised release. Kinney is required to register as a sex offender.
This investigation was conducted under HSI's Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
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