Jessica Pickering, Distributing Child Pornography, Connecticut 2020

Waterbury Woman Faces Mandatory Minimum 5-Year Prison Sentence for Distributing Child Pornography

Waterbury, Connecticut – In a disturbing case of child exploitation, Jessica Pickering, a 27-year-old former resident of Waterbury, pleaded guilty to distributing child pornography through the Kik social media application. According to court documents, Pickering joined a Kik group in October 2020 that catered to individuals with a sexual interest in children and corresponded with an FBI Online Covert Employee who was monitoring the group.

During her interactions with the undercover agent, Pickering claimed to have access to three minors, aged 7 and younger. On October 20, 2020, she posted two live videos to the Kik group that depicted child pornography of a male toddler. The next day, Pickering sent the undercover agent two additional videos of the same child. However, she later withdrew from the group, stating that she felt an immense amount of disgust for herself after the incident.

Pickering was arrested on a federal criminal complaint on October 27, 2020. She is currently released on a $100,000 bond and residing with family in Queens, New York, pending sentencing. Judge Stefan R. Underhill scheduled sentencing for August 4, 2021, at which time Pickering faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

The investigation into Pickering’s activities was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation with the assistance of the Wolcott Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarala V. Nagala.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which aims to protect children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.

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