South Dakota Man Sentenced for Distribution of Child Pornography

     BUFFALO, N.Y.B U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Jesse Adams, 27, of Rapid City, South Dakota, who was convicted of distribution of child pornography, was sentenced to 144 months in prison by Chief U.S. District Judge William M. Skretny.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol G. Bridge, who handled the case, stated that the investigation began when an undercover agent in Utah received emails and images depicting child pornography from Adams who is a student attending a local college.

On April 12, 2013, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at the defendant’s dormitory residence and seized a laptop computer, thumb drive, and a cellular telephone. A forensic examination revealed one video and close to 90 images of child pornography. Some of the images depicted children under 12 years old.

Adams utilized a website called vampirefreaks.com where he met four minor females that he communicated with. At the request of the defendants, some of the minor females sent Adams naked photos of themselves. The defendant also sent naked photos of himself to some of the minor females. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys= Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The Complaint is the culmination of an investigation on the part of Special Agents of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Homeland Security Investigations, under the direction of James C. Spero, Special Agent-In-Charge.