Chad Michael Lehofer, Child Pornography, Virginia 2023

A Fredericksburg man was sentenced to 19 years in prison for producing and possessing child pornography.

Alexandria, Va. – Chad Michael Lehofer, 37, was sentenced today to 19 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for producing and possessing child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia, Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr., and Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon of U.S. Homeland Security Investigations.

According to court documents, from at least December 11, 2018, through April 8, 2019, Lehofer repeatedly engaged in sexually explicit discussions with a minor online and enticed and coerced the minor to produce sexually explicit pictures and videos and send them to Lehofer.

After the minor tried to break off contact with him, Lehofer pretended to be a different person and continued to communicate with the minor online. Lehofer sent threatening messages to the minor, telling the minor that if the minor did not send him sexually explicit videos, he would expose the minor to others, including the minor’s mother and friends.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Zoe Bedell and Lauren Halper, as well as Trial Attorney Eduardo Palomo from the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, prosecuted the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Lehofer was previously convicted in Connecticut in 2006 for state offenses involving his sexual abuse of two minors. The case was investigated by U.S. Homeland Security Investigations and the Fredericksburg Police Department. The case was prosecuted by the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org.

Lehofer’s sentence was imposed by U.S. District Judge Leonie M. Brinkema. The maximum penalty for the offense is 20 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, and a fine of $250,000.

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