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Four Men Sentenced for Engaging in Child Exploitation Enterprise in Bayonet Point FL
Kyle William Leishear, a 43-year-old resident of Bayonet Point, Florida, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for his role in a child exploitation enterprise. Leishear was a prominent member of the ‘Rapey.su’ website, which was dedicated to child sexual exploitation.
According to court documents, Leishear enticed multiple minor victims, including one as young as 12-years-old, to produce and share sexually explicit images. He also attempted to distribute child sexual abuse material on the website.
Leishear was not alone in his crimes. His co-defendants, Christopher William Kuehner, Jacob Royce Mullins, and Matthew Martin, were also sentenced for their roles in the child exploitation enterprise.
Kuehner, a 38-year-old from Bremerton, Washington, was sentenced to 20 years in prison for repeatedly inducing minor victims to produce and post sexually explicit images and videos to the site.
Mullins, a 20-year-old from South Webster, Ohio, was sentenced to 7 years in prison for repeatedly distributing child sexual abuse material images on the website and enticing another website user to produce and share sexually explicit images of a minor victim.
Martin, a 25-year-old from Lancaster, Wisconsin, was sentenced to 6 years and 8 months in prison for repeatedly distributing child sexual abuse material images on the website.
The ‘Rapey.su’ website was a platform for members to congregate, discuss, and engage in the sexual exploitation of children and young women.
The Justice Department’s Criminal Division is committed to rooting out websites like ‘Rapey.su’ and bringing to justice those who join them for the purpose of perpetuating the victimization of children.
Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. stated, ‘We cannot and will not tolerate websites that invite and encourage members to congregate, discuss, and engage in the sexual exploitation of children and young women.’
U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia added, ‘I am grateful for the hard work of our agents and prosecutors to seek justice in this horrific case. These defendants caused immeasurable trauma on their victims, amplified by the group’s online sharing of their abuse.’
HSI investigated the case, and Trial Attorney Whitney Kramer of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth Schlessinger for the Eastern District of Virginia 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 by the Justice Department.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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