Man Sentenced in District of New Hampshire to 20 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Offenses Occurring in New Jersey

NEWARK, N.J. – A Concord, New Hampshire, man was sentenced today in federal court to 240 months in prison for the exploitation of a minor in New Jersey and possession of child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney Philip Sellinger and U.S. Attorney Jane E. Young announced.

Scott Wilkinson, 39, previously pleaded guilty to one count each of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child sexual abuse material before U.S. District Court Judge Joseph Laplante, who imposed the sentence today in federal court in New Hampshire.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

Wilkinson traveled from New Hampshire to New Jersey in April 2022, where he engaged in sexual acts with a 12-year-old child. Wilkinson had been corresponding with the child online for approximately one year prior to traveling to New Jersey to meet the child. A video that Wilkinson created of himself engaged in sexual acts with the child was found on his cell phone, as were other images and videos of child sexual abuse material.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Laplante sentenced Wilkinson to 10 years of supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Sellinger and U.S. Attorney Young credited special agents of the FBI the Newark Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task force, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge James E. Dennehy; and the Egg Harbor Township Police Department with the investigation leading to today’s sentencing. Valuable assistance was provided by the Concord Police Department.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Harteis of the District of New Jersey and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kasey Weiland of the District of New Hampshire.

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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.