A 21-year-old Manassas man has been sentenced to 16 years in prison for producing and distributing child sexual abuse material.
Alexandria, Va. – Anthony Benton, a Manassas resident, was sentenced on March 2024 to 16 years in prison for the sexual exploitation of children and receipt of child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, Benton initially came to the attention of law enforcement when he purchased child sexual abuse material, including videos depicting the sexual abuse of children as young as 5 years old, over Telegram.
A residential search warrant was executed at his home and law enforcement discovered that Benton had used Omegle, a live video application, to consistently produce child pornography since 2020.
Benton engaged in sexual live video calls with approximately 1,000 girls ranging in age from 7 to 17 years old. He screen-recorded and saved approximately 72 of those videos without the minor victims knowing.
Benton deceived a 10-year-old minor by saying he was 15 years old and then, when she revealed her age, promised their sexual conversation was, “[J]ust between us.”
U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber, Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri, and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon made the announcement after sentencing by U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.
Special Assistant U.S. Attorney McKenzie Hightower and Trial Attorney for the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006.
Benton was charged with producing child sexual abuse material and receipt of child sexual abuse material.
The defendant’s name is Anthony Benton.
Related Federal Cases
- Robert Wayne Roady, Attempted Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Oregon 2020 · Hawaii
- Gregory Kyle Seerden, Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, VA 2024 · New Hampshire
- Anthony Dale Helton, Sex Offender Registry Violation, West Virginia · Oklahoma
- Philip Stephen Plyler, Child Exploitation, West Virginia 2024 · Connecticut
- Michael Andrew Widroff, Sexual Coercion, Virginia 2023 · Alabama
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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