ALEXANDRIA, Va. – In a shocking case of child exploitation, Vincenzo Leonardi, a 27-year-old man from Lakewood, Ohio, pleaded guilty to producing child pornography in connection with his online impersonation of a minor girl to entice and coerce minor boys to produce sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves.
According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, from at least May 2012 to February 2016, Leonardi posed as a minor girl named “Taylor Capps” on Facebook, Instagram, Kik, and other social media services, for the purpose of contacting minor boys over the Internet to engage in sexually explicit communications and conduct.
Leonardi sent pictures of a minor girl and other naked females to his victims, including a 9-year-old boy from Loudoun County. He successfully enticed and coerced at least six other minor boys, all of whom were between the ages of 9 and 12 years old, to record themselves engaged in sexually explicit behavior and to transmit those photographs and videos to Leonardi.
As part of his plea agreement, Leonardi admitted that his personal laptop computer, which was seized during the execution of a search warrant in December 2015, contained over two dozen sexually explicit videos and over 100 sexually explicit images of minors.
Leonardi was indicted by a federal grand jury on November 3, 2016, and faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison when sentenced on May 12.
The case was investigated by the FBI’s Washington Field Office, the Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office, and the U.S. Attorney’s Offices for the Northern District of Ohio and the District of Maryland.
Related Federal Cases
- Vincenzo Leonardi, Production of Child Pornography, Virginia 2016 · Washington
- James Kent, Child Sexual Abuse, West Virginia 2024 · Washington
- Ashley Kolhoff, Child Sex Abuse Material Production, Ohio 2020 · Washington
- Vincenzo Leonardi, Child Exploitation, Virginia 2016 · Virginia
- Sara Belen Coltz, Coercion and Enticement of a Minor, Arizona 2022 · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Virginia
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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