Westchester man sentenced to 50 years in prison for engaging in sexual activity with minors and videotaping the assaults

NEW YORK — A man from Westchester County was sentenced to 50 years in prison for engaging in sexual activity with seven different minors, all under the age of 11 at the time of the sexual activity.  This sentencing follows an investigation by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE), Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) assigned to the Child Exploitation Unit.

Richard Dinizo, 60, of Cortlandt Manor, New York, videotaped the sexual abuse and transported the videos depicting him engaging in sexual activity with minors to recipients outside of New York. Dinizo plead guilty in May 2014 before United States District Judge Vincent Briccetti, who also imposed Tuesday's sentence at White Plains federal court.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:

In March of 2013, a witness provided a camera memory card, discarded by Dinizo in or about August 2012, to law enforcement.  The memory card contained a series of videos made in 2009 and 2010 depicting Dinizo and a girl under the age of 11 (“Victim 1”) engaging in sexually explicit activity.  Dinizo used trickery and deceit in order to manipulate Victim 1 into engaging in the sexual activity captured on the videos.

Thereafter, during the course of the investigation, additional evidence was recovered from Dinizo revealing additional videos – made by Dinizo between 2007 and 2010, and additional victims.  Ultimately, law enforcement identified seven different victims, all under the age of 11 at the time of the abuse.  With all seven victims, Dinizo used trickery and deceit.  In many instances, Dinizo recorded the sexual abuse using multiple cameras simultaneously.  The different cameras captured the abuse from different vantage points. 

Dinizo transported his homemade videos to recipients outside New York.  His video files have been recovered in numerous law enforcement investigations throughout the country and internationally.  Until Dinizo's arrest, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which receives child pornography files recovered by law enforcement, had not been able to identify the girls depicted in the videos and had not been able to identify the place at which the abuse occurred.

In addition to the 50-year prison term, the judge sentenced Dinizo to a life term of supervised release.  

On Dec. 12, 2013, Dinizo pleaded guilty to three counts of predatory sexual assault against a child in Westchester County Supreme Court.  On Feb. 18, 2014, Dinizo was sentenced to 25 years to life in prison.

The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Preet Bharara praised the efforts of Immigration and Customs Enforcement's HSI, the Putnam County District Attorney's Office, the Putnam County Sherriff's Office, the Westchester County District Attorney's Office, the New York State Police, and NCMEC in connection with this investigation.

Assistant United States Attorney Marcia S. Cohen, with the Office's White Plains Division was in charge of the prosecution.

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 10,000 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.