A 28-year-old man who was sentenced to 35 years in prison Friday on child pornography charges connected with his victims through Instagram, Kik and Snapchat, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Justin Michael Peterson of Maryland pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of distribution of child pornography last August.
According to court document cited by the Justice Department, “Peterson used Instagram to video chat with a minor victim and entice the minor victim,” as well as to make explicit sexual requests. He also allegedly used special software to record the chats and then distributed the recordings to another minor child. Per the documents, Peterson had been exchanging sexually explicit messages with that other child on the on Kik and Snapchat social media platforms.
“During his chats with the second minor child, Peterson discussed his interest in traveling to the minor victim’s home to kidnap them,” said the Justice Department. Peterson – who had already been convicted of distributing child pornography in 2016 and was a registered sex offender – was arrested in February 2020.
After he was taken into law enforcement custody, Peterson admitted “that he is sexually attracted to children as young as three years old,” and authorities found that Peterson’s phone “contained hundreds of images depicting the sexual abuse of children, including toddlers and infants.”
A forensic examination of the phone revealed that Peterson also “actively participated in several online chat groups dedicated to the sexual exploitation of children and distributing child sexual abuse material,” where he posted an offer to “rent” one of his child victims as a “cam slave.”
“The Carroll County Sheriff's Office is reminding caregivers to be vigilant of their children’s devices and social media accounts,” said one of the agencies that worked to apprehended Peterson. It recommended tips from The Carly Ryan Foundation to help set up controls on various apps.
Peterson was sentenced to 30 supervised release years on top of his 35-year prison sentence. Going forward, he will be required to register as a sex offender “in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.”
According to the Justice Department Peterson’s case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. It was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
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