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As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe NowA man who pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child pornography has been sentenced to 200 years in federal prison, the federal prosecutor’s office for the Southern District of Indiana announced.
Jeffrey Esposito, 54, of Shelbyville, was sentenced by Southern District Court Chief Judge Jane Magnus-Stinson, US Attorney Josh Minkler announced Wednesday.
“Esposito tortured, sexually abused, and sexually exploited children for years,” said Minkler in a statement. “Judge Magnus-Stinson’s sentence ensures that he will never come in contact with another child again.”
In April 2018, Esposito was charged by indictment with 20 counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of possession of child pornography. His exploitation charges stem from Esposito’s act of recording of his repeated sexual abuse of his minor victim, who was 7 to 8 years old when the abuse started.
The abuse continued for years, including bondage and torture sessions with choking, whipping, and other forms of pain, according to Minkler’s office. The 20 counts represent 20 images or videos of abuse and exploitation over multiple occasions out of the hundreds of sexual abuse files that the defendant created using the minor victim.
Esposito was also determined to be a member of various websites devoted to the sexual exploitation of children on an anonymous network and participated on various anonymous chatting platforms where he met other offenders, shared his produced material and requested and received child pornography from those users in exchange.
Thousands of other depictions of sexual abuse that Esposito maintained on his various devices contributed to his child pornography charge, which included images and videos depicting bondage and torture, images and videos depicting children as young as 3 years old, and images and videos of minor victims who were abused by other offenders specifically for Esposito’s benefit.
“Let this sentence serve as a reminder that HSI is committed to standing firmly in the way of those who prey on and exploit our most vulnerable population – our children,” James Gibbons, Homeland Security Investigations special agent in charge, said in a statement. “HSI, in cooperation with our law enforcement and judicial partners, will work tirelessly to identify and bring to justice individuals who commit these heinous crimes.”
The case against Esposito was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security Investigations. Case prosecutors were assistant U.S. attorney Steven DeBrota and Department of Justice child exploitation and obscenity section trial attorney Lauren Kupersmith.
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