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Press Release
LITTLE ROCK—Christopher R. Thyer, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, along with Raymond R. Parmer, Jr., Special Agent in Charge of the Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New Orleans Field Division, announced today that Nicholas DeRose, age 44, of Clinton, was sentenced to 240 months or 20 years in federal prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Minor by a Parent.
On August 2, 2013, HSI Special Agents located a photo-sharing profile named "dadof2dau" sharing child pornography images of a minor female. The images included hidden camera images of the minor female in the bathroom and images taken of her genitals while she was sleeping.
HSI agents then determined that the IP address belonging to the user of "dadof2dau" returned to Nicholas DeRose of Clinton, Arkansas. HSI Special Agents obtained a search warrant for DeRose’s residence on January 27, 2014.
DeRose admitted that he sent and received images containing child pornography. DeRose then admitted that he was the person who took photographs of the minor female located in the "dadof2dau" photo-sharing account. DeRose admitted to taking pictures of the minor off and on for one year.
DeRose told HSI agents that he located a "spy-shop" in Little Rock, Arkansas, and purchased a small, battery-powered video camera. He would then hide the camera in the minor’s bathroom and bedroom in order to capture images of the minor in various stages of undress. DeRose admitted to drilling a hole in the handle of a plastic toilet plunger and hiding the camera in the handle to record video of the minor. DeRose stated that this method worked "very well." DeRose stated that the camera recorded and saved the video files onto a small memory card within the camera. DeRose admitted that he would then retrieve the camera and would transfer the video to his "gray HP laptop computer."
DeRose was indicted on June 4, 2014, in a two count Indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of a child by a parent and distribution of child pornography. On July 10, 2015, DeRose pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a child by a parent.
There is no parole in the federal system. When DeRose is released upon completion of his 20 year sentence, he will serve 10 years of supervised release. Conditions of his supervised release include registering as a sex offender and no contact with minors under the age of 18.
"Sometimes those who pose the most risk to our children are those who they trust the most." United States Attorney Christopher R. Thyer stated. "While the sentence imposed today cannot undo the irreparable harm committed by DeRose, it sends the message that law enforcement will find those who exploit the most vulnerable victims in our society and send them to prison for decades."
"Child sexual abuse is one of the most heinous crimes HSI investigates as it steals the innocence of children and leaves lasting scars on victims," said Raymond R. Parmer Jr. "Criminals who produce and distribute child pornography further victimize the innocent by sharing the evidence of these terrible crimes, and as such, these cases will continue to be one of the agency’s highest priorities."