Kimihiko Makino, Aiding Child Pornography Distribution, California 2013

San Francisco Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Aiding Child Pornography Distribution

Kimihiko Makino, a 40-year-old Japanese national, was sentenced to 20 years in prison and ordered to pay $10,000 in restitution for aiding and abetting the advertising of child pornography for sale.

Makino pleaded guilty on June 24, 2013, to advertising child pornography, which involved operating servers in San Francisco for a Japanese website known as "Daio," that advertised the sale of DVDs containing child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, Makino admitted to knowingly causing the advertisements to be published on the website, which contained tens of thousands of visual depictions of children, primarily under the age of eight, being victimized and coerced into engaging in sexually explicit and often sado-masochistic conduct.

Makino was indicted on July 12, 2012, on charges of advertising child pornography and possessing child pornography. He was arrested while visiting the United States from Japan for the purpose of maintaining Daio’s servers.

"This country will not tolerate the abuse of children through the production of child pornography, which permanently harms the physiological, emotional, and mental health of children," said United States Attorney Melinda Haag.

The sentence was imposed by the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, United States District Court Judge, and included a five-year term of supervised release, restitution of $10,000 to be paid to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and forfeiture.

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