Newport Man Sentenced for Production and Distribution of Child Sexual Abuse Material

COVINGTON, Ky. - A Newport, Ky., man, Leandro Davila, III, 31, was sentenced on Thursday by Chief U.S. District Judge David Bunning to 408 months for the production and distribution of child pornography.

The investigation began in July 2025 when federal investigators discovered that an individual, subsequently identified as Davila, had produced and distributed sexually explicit conduct involving a minor online. The investigation further revealed that the Defendant was entrusted by the family to look after the minor and committed the crimes while doing so.

According to court records, Davila created child sexual abuse material involving the child and disseminated it through the messaging platform Kik, sharing it repeatedly with users around the world. He also distributed child pornography involving other minors. Kik reported the activity to law enforcement, prompting the investigation. Investigators were able to link the activity to Davila through account records and files sent from the account. A search of Davila's Kik account uncovered at least 50 videos involving minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Records from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children also showed multiple prior CyberTipline reports associated with Davila's IP address. Davila received numerous sentencing enhancements, including an enhancement pertaining to the abuse of a position of trust.

Jason Parman, First Assistant United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Kentucky, Colin Jackson, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Department of Homeland Security, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI); and Chief Patrick Sorrell, Campbell County Police Department, announced the sentence.

The investigation was conducted by HSI and the Campbell County Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kyle Winslow prosecuted the case on behalf of the United States.

This case was prosecuted 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 the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (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.projectsafechildhood.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

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