A man from Kenduskeag, Maine, has been sentenced to 27 years in federal prison for producing and possessing child pornography. U.S. District Judge Stacy D. Neumann handed down the sentence to Justin Leonard, 24, at the U.S. District Court in Bangor. In addition to his prison term, Leonard will serve 10 years of supervised release and must pay $20,000 each to two minor victims.
According to court records, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) executed a search warrant at Leonard’s home in February 2024 after receiving a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. During the search, Leonard provided investigators with access to a hidden folder on his phone that contained sexually explicit images and videos of two young children. He admitted to taking these images and videos himself.
The parents of the children confirmed Leonard’s statements and identified their children in the material found by investigators. A forensic review of Leonard’s phone also uncovered Facebook chats where he expressed interest in children and a desire to acquire them. The phone’s browser history included searches related to Rohypnol, also known as “roofies,” with queries such as “youngest age you can safely give a roofie” and “Is there any drug that can make a person unconscious for 2 hours?”
Judge Neumann described Leonard’s actions as “the most heinous offense than can be committed,” stating, “not only did [Leonard] commit the act, [he] documented it.”
The case was investigated by HSI and the Maine State Police Computer Crimes Unit.
Child sexual abuse material documents the exploitation of children and causes ongoing harm each time it is viewed or shared. In 2023 alone, the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children received 36 million reports concerning possession, manufacture, or distribution of such materials. Reports can be filed through https://report.cybertip.org or by calling 1-800-843-5678.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation online by coordinating efforts among federal, state, and local agencies. More information about Project Safe Childhood is available at https://www.justice.gov/usao-me/psc.
