San Francisco Man Sentenced To 135 Months In Prison For Transportation Of Child Pornography

SAN FRANCISCO – Stephen Leone was sentenced today to 135 months in prison and ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution for transportation of child pornography, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

Leone pleaded guilty on Oct. 12, 2012, to a one-count Information charging him with violating 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(1), transportation of child pornography. According to the plea agreement, Leone admitted that on Nov. 27, 2011, he made a video recording of a minor victim that he then transported to other electronic devices and media, and that he knew the video recording depicted conduct that qualifies as child pornography under federal law.

Leone, 50, of San Francisco, was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 7, 2012. He was charged with producing child pornography on two occasions, in approximately November 2011 and February 2012. He has been in continuous custody since his arrest by San Francisco police officers on April 22, 2012.

The sentence was handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Jeffrey S. White following a guilty plea to one count in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(1) (transportation of child pornography). Judge White also sentenced the defendant to a five-year period of supervised release, and ordered that he pay $15,000 in restitution to his minor victim.

Owen Martikan is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who prosecuted the case with the assistance of Rosario Calderon. The prosecution is the result of a three-month investigation by the San Francisco Police Department and the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(Leone filed information )