Joplin Man James Hajny Gets 100 Years for Child Porn Crimes

Joplin, Missouri, is reeling after 51-year-old James Hajny was sentenced to 100 years in federal prison without parole for the sexual exploitation of two children. U.S. District Judge M. Douglas Harpool handed down the maximum sentence after Hajny pleaded no contest mid-trial on July 19, 2016, to multiple counts of producing child pornography, receiving and distributing it over the internet, and possessing hundreds of illegal images and videos.

The investigation began with a CyberTip on January 17, 2014, from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, detailing an email containing a pornographic image of Jane Doe #2, a 7-year-old victim. Less than four months later, on May 14, 2014, Australian authorities flagged a user—later confirmed as James Hajny—uploading child pornography to a Russian-hosted image-sharing website. His profile openly declared, “I am into younger girls and boys ages 8-13 also into taboo.”

Agents executed a search warrant at the Hajny residence on May 16, 2014. James and his wife, Gina Hajny, 41, attempted to slam the door shut, resisting entry. Officers forced their way in, and during a safety frisk, discovered a marijuana pipe in James Hajny’s front left pocket. He was immediately arrested on drug paraphernalia charges as investigators began seizing digital evidence.

A laptop pulled from the home contained 124 video files and 2,110 images of child pornography. James Hajny’s cell phone held more illicit material, including graphic images of Jane Doe #1, a 9-year-old, Jane Doe #2, and an 11-year-old boy identified as John Doe. Investigators also uncovered text messages detailing his interest in sexually abusing children, cementing the case for federal prosecution.

Gina Hajny, who admitted to accessing her husband’s laptop and seeing the illegal content, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography. On March 1, 2016, she was sentenced to five years in federal prison without parole for failing to report the abuse. She claimed she knew the device contained child pornography but did nothing to stop it or alert authorities.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ami Harshad Miller and James J. Kelleher and investigated by the FBI, ICE’s Homeland Security Investigations, the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, and the Joplin Police Department. It was part of Project Safe Childhood, the Justice Department’s nationwide push to dismantle networks of child sexual exploitation. James Hajny will spend the remainder of his life on supervised release after his 100-year sentence.