Rancho Cordova Man Pleads Guilty to Production and Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material

Daragh Finbar Hayes, 44, of Rancho Cordova, pleaded guilty on Jan. 9 to three counts of production of child sexual abuse material and one count of distribution of child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, between June 25, 2024, and Sept. 30, 2024, Hayes knowingly used a child to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that conduct. Hayes kept images of the sex abuse in a “hidden” folder on his personal electronic device and distributed images of the sex abuse to at least one other person over the internet.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny is prosecuting the case.

Hayes is in custody and will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins at a later date. For each of the three counts of production of child sexual abuse material, Hayes faces a mandatory statutory minimum of 15 years in prison, a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. For the count of distribution of child sexual abuse material, he faces a mandatory statutory minimum of five years in prison, a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.