Vincenzo Leonardi, Child Exploitation, Virginia 2016

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – A disturbing case of online predator Vincenzo Leonardi has reached its grim conclusion as the 27-year-old Ohio man was sentenced today to 15 years in prison for exploiting at least six minor boys to produce sexually explicit photographs and videos.

In a harrowing display of exploitation, Leonardi, from Lakewood, posed as a pre-adolescent girl on social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Kik. He lured his young victims, including a 9-year-old boy in Loudoun County, Virginia, into engaging in explicit conduct and filming themselves for his sinister purposes. His scheme was meticulously crafted to entice and coerce these minors over the internet.

According to court documents, Leonardi’s activities spanned from May 2012 to February 2016. He not only coerced the boys but also managed to contact at least a dozen other minors between the ages of 9 and 12. His laptop, seized during a December 2015 search warrant execution, harbored over two dozen explicit videos and more than 100 explicit images of children.

Today’s sentencing was a joint effort by Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Andrew W. Vale, Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI’s Washington Field Office; and Michael L. Chapman, Loudoun County Sheriff. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Maya D. Song and Jay V. Prabhu led the prosecution.

Supporting agencies included the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Ohio and the District of Maryland, who significantly contributed to the investigation. The details of this despicable case are a stark reminder of the dangers of online predators targeting innocent children.

A copy of the press release can be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are available on the District Court website for the Eastern District of Virginia or through PACER by searching for Case No. 1:16-cr-247.

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