Vincent Deritis, 33, of Hickory, N.C., was sentenced today to 50 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for the sexual exploitation of a minor and possession of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), announced Dena J. King, U.S. Attorney for the Western District of North Carolina. Deritis was also ordered to register as a sex offender after he is released from prison.
Ronnie Martinez, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in North Carolina and South Carolina, and Chief Reed Baer of the Hickory Police Department join U.S. Attorney King in making today’s announcement.
According to filed court documents, evidence presented at trial and today’s sentencing hearing, between October 2018 and March 2019, Deritis created child pornography of an unknowing minor victim on three occasions. On April 3, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Deritis’ residence. A forensic analysis of electronic devices seized from the defendant’s home and files in his cloud storage account revealed that Deritis possessed images and videos of the minor victim naked while getting in or out of the shower, photos of the minor’s genitalia, and thousands of images of child pornography Deritis had downloaded from the internet. On June 22, 2022, a federal jury convicted Deritis of three counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
“Deritis is a child predator who caused a minor victim substantial harm,” said U.S. Attorney King. “Protecting children and holding perpetrators accountable is a priority for my office. Federal prosecutors work hand-in-hand with our law enforcement partners to investigate and prosecute child exploitation cases, and our victim assistance unit ensures that victims and their families receive the support and assistance they need throughout the court process and beyond.”
“This sentence sends the message that those who seek to exploit our most vulnerable population, will face accountability for their predatory ways,” said HSI Special Agent in Charge Martinez. “We will continue to work tirelessly with our law enforcement and community partners to protect the children in our communities.”
Deritis is currently in federal custody. He will be transferred to the custody of the federal Bureau of Prisons upon designation of a federal facility.
In making today’s announcement, U.S. Attorney King commended HSI and the Hickory Police Department for their investigation of the case.
Assistant United States Attorney Nick J. Miller, of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Charlotte prosecuted the case.
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 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 www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
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