LOS ANGELES – A Moreno Valley man has been sentenced to nearly two decades in federal prison for advertising child pornography in a members-only online chatroom for people with a sexual interest in infants and toddlers, following a probe by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Angelo Harper Jr., 21, was sentenced Monday to 235 months in prison and lifetime supervised release by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner. Harper was convicted of advertising child pornography after a trial in July. He also pleaded guilty in July to distributing child pornography and possession of child pornography.
The evidence presented at trial showed that Harper used the Kik Messenger social media platform to access a chatroom for those interested in nepiophilia, which is a sexual interest in infants and toddlers. Last year, an HSI special agent entered the chatroom using an undercover Kik account, and accessed several postings about child pornography – made by an individual later identified as Harper – which included images depicting child pornography and a link to an explicit video. At one point, Harper wrote: “I have tons of pics and vids of little boys and girls. Pm me for chat and trade of kids under 6 [winking face emoji].”
“Pedophiles who use technology to share child pornography re-victimize each child and perpetuate the market for this criminal behavior,” said United States Attorney Eileen M. Decker. “This case highlights the fact that defendants like this one will not escape prosecution by hiding in the dark corners of the internet.”
As a result of the investigation, HSI special agents seized numerous digital devices from Harper that contained child pornography, and Harper admitted to using Kik to transmit child pornography. In total federal agents seized approximately 9,000 images of child pornography and over 500 videos.
