Kansas man sentenced for sending and receiving child pornography online

WICHITA, KAN. - A Kansas man was sentenced to 155 months in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

According to court documents, Zachery Leslie, 25, of Wichita pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography.

Leslie used an online file sharing platform to send and receive CSAM including nine files which included prepubescent children subjected to sex acts.

"There is a misconception that distributing child sexual abuse material found online is a lesser offense because the perpetrator never directly encounters a victim," said U.S. Attorney Ryan A. Kriegshauser. "In reality, each time these images are circulated, the abuse is compounded and the victims are harmed again. This conduct is serious, and it must end."

The Kansas Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.

Project Safe Childhood
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

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