Eighth Member of Conspiracy That Traded Child Pornography Sentenced

WASHINGTON—The last conspirator charged in the Western District of Virginia was sentenced today for his role in a conspiracy that disseminated thousands of images and videos of the sexual abuse of children, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Mythili Raman of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division and the U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Virginia Timothy J. Heaphy.

Jesse Leon Coleman, 48, of Lynchburg, Virginia, was sentenced today following his previous plea to one count of receipt of child pornography by Senior U.S. District Judge Norman K. Moon in the Western District of Virginia to serve 135 months. Following his release, Coleman must register as a sex offender.

In January 2012, a grand jury charged nine individuals, including Coleman, with conspiracy to receive, distribute, possess, and access with intent to view child pornography.

Co-defendants Manuel Antonio Mares, 57, of Miami; Jeremy Hart Yost, 26, of West Bend, Oregon; Richard Phillip Allen, 66, of Redondo Beach, California; James Calvin Boyd, 59, of Pell City, Alabama; and Peter Franklin Ortiz, 57, of Greenville, South Carolina, were previously sentenced in the Western District of Virginia for their roles in the conspiracy. Co-defendants Thomas Syfor, 71, and Matthew Ackerman, 49, both of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, were previously transferred to the Eastern District of Pennsylvania for disposition in that district. The ninth defendant, known as “Andy Danilov,” is believed to reside in Russia and remains at large.

According to court documents, beginning in August 2010 and continuing until at least November 2011, Danilov distributed e-mails to a group of individuals, including the defendant, that contained links to compressed files and file attachments depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Danilov often used the screen name “Cinemaboy” in the e-mails. According to information presented at the plea hearing, forensic analysis of each of the defendants’ computers confirmed their involvement in the conspiracy, and some of the defendants were found to possess very large numbers of images and movies depicting the sexual abuse of children.

Evidence presented at the sentencing hearing indicated that, while in the military, Coleman was convicted for possession of child pornography and sexually abused three minor boys overseas.

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 U.S. 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 ww.justice.gov/psc.

The investigation of the case was conducted by the FBI Innocent Images Operations Unit. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy Healey of the Western District of Virginia and Trial Attorney Darcy Katzin of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.