Local man sentenced for trading child porn via Kik

HOUSTON – A 26-year-old Houston resident has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Ja-Anthony Ledell Kennedy pleaded guilty April 24.

Today, U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal sentenced Kennedy to 180 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard about the harm to victims of this type of crime. In handing down the prison term, Judge Rosenthal noted efforts to promote respect for the law, deter similar future crimes and fashion a just sentence considering all factors.

Kennedy was further ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to the victims and will serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of the prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Kennedy will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

In 2020, authorities learned of files being stores online that contained images of child pornography. Those files were linked to Kennedy.

The investigation revealed he had been sending and receiving images and videos of child pornography on the Kik messaging application from 2020 to 2021. Kennedy admitted to trading child pornography in the Kik chats to continue to receive access to this material.

Kennedy had 76 videos and 60 images of child pornography in his online accounts. Some included victims as young as two years old.

Previously released on bond, Kennedy is expected to surrender this afternoon pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of the FBI.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Christine J. Lu and Sherin S. Daniel prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.