{"id":1141268,"date":"2021-12-22T09:06:25","date_gmt":"2021-12-22T14:06:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1141268"},"modified":"2021-12-22T09:06:27","modified_gmt":"2021-12-22T14:06:27","slug":"despicable-criminal-behavior-man-sentenced-to-prison-for-using-facebook-to-distribute-child-pornography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/despicable-criminal-behavior-man-sentenced-to-prison-for-using-facebook-to-distribute-child-pornography\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018Despicable Criminal Behavior\u2019: Man Sentenced To Prison For Using Facebook To Distribute Child Pornography"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"float:left\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">28<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fdespicable-criminal-behavior-man-sentenced-to-prison-for-using-facebook-to-distribute-child-pornography%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=1141268&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>A 33-year old Indiana man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for producing child pornography and distributing it via Facebook, according to the Department of Justice.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Lorenzo Johnson, a registered sex offender from Hammond, Indiana, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/opa\/pr\/registered-sex-offender-sentenced-50-years-prison-producing-and-using-facebook-distribute\">received<\/a> his sentence on Friday after being convicted in August of possessing a gun as a felon, distributing child pornography, and three counts of conspiring to produce child pornography.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Using Facebook, he found women he believed to be struggling economically and then offered to pay them to take pornographic images of children.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cAs the jury unanimously found, Lorenzo Johnson repeatedly persuaded vulnerable women to sexually exploit infants and young children,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. for the DOJ\u2019s Criminal Division said. \u201cToday\u2019s sentence sends a strong message that offenders who target vulnerable members of our society, and especially children, will be brought to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Johnson apparently offered \u201cwomen money to take sexually explicit photos of infants and prepubescent children whom they knew, and successfully persuaded three such women, who were subsequently charged with child pornography offenses, to send him photos depicting the sexual abuse of infants and prepubescent children,\u201d according to authorities.<\/p>\n<p>At least one of the women involved in Johnson\u2019s scheme has pleaded guilty, with at least one other expected to as well. Another woman reportedly died during the investigation meaning that she could not be prosecuted.<\/p>\n<p>According to the FBI, he hoped to use the images to blackmail other Facebook users. In one instance, he told a woman that he wanted to \u201chold something over her head\u201d Facebook records revealed during the trial show Johnson threatening to \u201cexpose\u201d his co-conspirators if they did not produce child sexual abuse material for him to distribute.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>Northern District of Indiana attorney Clifford D. Johnson called Johnson\u2019s actions \u201cdespicable criminal behavior.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cManipulating vulnerable women into producing pornographic images of voiceless children is despicable criminal behavior,\u201d he said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>The investigation into Johnson stemmed from the Project Safe Childhood initiative and involved FBI agents, the Cook County State Attorney\u2019s office, and the Cook County\u2019s sheriff department.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis sentence demonstrates the FBI\u2019s commitment to identifying sexual predators and investigating these type of cases with a sense of urgency to ensure those who victimize our most vulnerable members of society pay the price with time in prison,\u201d Special Agent Gregory Nelsen said.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>As part of the same child protection initiative, a Kentucky man was <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-edky\/pr\/pike-county-man-sentenced-375-months-distribution-child-pornography\">sentenced<\/a> to 375 months in prison for distributing child pornography on Tuesday. According to the attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, 36-year old Oscar Joshua Calhoun also used \u201conline platforms\u201d to exchange child pornography involving children under 12 years old.<\/p>\n<p>In a similar <a href=\"https:\/\/www.justice.gov\/usao-wdva\/pr\/50-year-sentence-virginia-man-who-produced-child-pornography\">case<\/a>, William Dean Blankenship of Virginia was sentenced to 50 years in prison for producing child pornography and illegally having a firearm as a felon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>\u201cNow, Mr. Blankenship will begin to pay for the horrific atrocities he committed,\u201d said Special Agent Ray Villanueva from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, D.C.&nbsp; \u201cThis sentencing serves as another example to anyone who seeks to victimize our children, that we will work tirelessly to bring them to justice.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a&nbsp;<\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailywire.com\/subscribe\"><em>member<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/p>\n<p><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A 33-year old Indiana man has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for producing child pornography and distributing it via Facebook, according to the Department of Justice.\u00a0Lorenzo Johnson, a registered sex offender from Hammond, Indiana, received his sentence on Friday after being convicted in August of possessing a gun as a felon, distributing child pornography, and three counts of conspiring to produce child pornography.\u00a0Using Facebook, he found women he believed to be struggling economically and then offered to pay them to take pornographic images of children.\u00a0\u201cAs the jury unanimously found, Lorenzo Johnson repeatedly persuaded vulnerable women to sexually exploit infants and young children,\u201d Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Polite Jr. for the DOJ\u2019s Criminal Division said. \u201cToday\u2019s sentence sends a strong message that offenders who target vulnerable members of our society, and especially children, will be brought to justice.\u201dJohnson apparently offered \u201cwomen money to take sexually explicit photos of infants and prepubescent children whom they knew, and successfully persuaded three such women, who were subsequently charged with child pornography offenses, to send him photos depicting the sexual abuse of infants and prepubescent children,\u201d according to authorities.At least one of the women involved in Johnson\u2019s scheme has pleaded guilty, with at least one other expected to as well. Another woman reportedly died during the investigation meaning that she could not be prosecuted.According to the FBI, he hoped to use the images to blackmail other Facebook users. In one instance, he told a woman that he wanted to \u201chold something over her head\u201d Facebook records revealed during the trial show Johnson threatening to \u201cexpose\u201d his co-conspirators if they did not produce child sexual abuse material for him to distribute.\u00a0Northern District of Indiana attorney Clifford D. Johnson called Johnson\u2019s actions \u201cdespicable criminal behavior.\u201d\u00a0\u201cManipulating vulnerable women into producing pornographic images of voiceless children is despicable criminal behavior,\u201d he said.\u00a0The investigation into Johnson stemmed from the Project Safe Childhood initiative and involved FBI agents, the Cook County State Attorney\u2019s office, and the Cook County\u2019s sheriff department.\u00a0\u201cThis sentence demonstrates the FBI\u2019s commitment to identifying sexual predators and investigating these type of cases with a sense of urgency to ensure those who victimize our most vulnerable members of society pay the price with time in prison,\u201d Special Agent Gregory Nelsen said.\u00a0As part of the same child protection initiative, a Kentucky man was sentenced to 375 months in prison for distributing child pornography on Tuesday. According to the attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, 36-year old Oscar Joshua Calhoun also used \u201conline platforms\u201d to exchange child pornography involving children under 12 years old.In a similar case, William Dean Blankenship of Virginia was sentenced to 50 years in prison for producing child pornography and illegally having a firearm as a felon.\u00a0\u201cNow, Mr. Blankenship will begin to pay for the horrific atrocities he committed,\u201d said Special Agent Ray Villanueva from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Washington, D.C.\u00a0 \u201cThis sentencing serves as another example to anyone who seeks to victimize our children, that we will work tirelessly to bring them to justice.\u201dThe Daily Wire is one of America\u2019s fastest-growing conservative media companies and counter-cultural outlets for news, opinion, and entertainment. Get inside access to The Daily Wire by becoming a\u00a0member.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":200,"featured_media":2315279,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1141268","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141268","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/200"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1141268"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1141268\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2315279"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1141268"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1141268"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1141268"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}