Moorpark Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Producing Child Pornography

A Moorpark man who used social networking websites to trick, extort or threaten more than a dozen girls and boys into sending him naked photos and videos was sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for producing child pornography.

Judge John F. Walter handed down the sentence to Jeremy Brendan Sears, 24, after he pleaded guilty in January to one count of production of child pornography. According to court documents, Sears used fake profiles on Facebook, Meetme, and other social networking websites to communicate with real-life teenagers.

Sears would often begin online romantic relationships with the real-life teens and then encourage them to send him sexually explicit videos and photos of themselves. In some cases, Sears threatened to harm the real-life teens or their loved-ones unless they sent him naked images.

According to the plea agreement filed in this case, Sears would make physical threats against his minor victims, threatening that they would be raped, tortured, or killed if they did not give him a thing of value – namely, nude and sexually explicit images of themselves.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office. Sears will also be on supervised release for the rest of his life once he finishes his prison term.

Sears approached some of his victims after finding them active in social-networking groups for fans of music acts popular with young teenagers, such as Justin Bieber or One Direction. He would harass victims by making online accusations about their sexual activity, insulting them, or repeatedly insulting people the victims liked.

“Other times, [Sears] would offer to stop the harassment if his victims would send him sexually explicit images or would transmit to him live depictions of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct,” the plea agreement stated.

The case serves as a stark reminder of the dangers of online predators and the importance of being vigilant when interacting with strangers online.

Sears’ sentence is a significant blow to those who would seek to exploit and harm vulnerable individuals. His actions have caused irreparable harm to his victims, and he will now face the consequences of his actions.