A 24-year-old Kenduskeag man will serve 27 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child sexual abuse images involving two young children.
Justin Leonard was sentenced in U.S. District Court on two counts of producing child pornography and one count of possessing child pornography. He’ll also serve 10 years of supervised release and must pay $20,000 to each of the two victims.
Leonard’s sentence comes after Homeland Security investigators used a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children to get a warrant to search his residence.
Investigators say Leonard gave them access to a hidden folder on his cell telephone, where they found numerous sexually explicit images and videos of two very young children. They say Leonard admitted to taking the images and videos, and the children’s parents confirmed their identities.
Investigators say a subsequent forensic review of Leonard’s phone uncovered Facebook chats where he expressed an interest in children and a desire to acquire children.
They also say internet history on his phone showed an interest in Rohypnol or “roofies,” a powerful sedative. His queries included, “youngest age you can safely give a roofie” and “Is there any drug that can make a person unconscious for 2 hours?”
During sentencing, Judge Neumann said Leonard’s conduct constituted the “most heinous offense that can be committed,” noting that “not only did [Leonard] commit the act, [he] documented it.”