Michele Beckwith Acting U.S. Attorney | U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of California
Jordan Anthony Hughes, a 24-year-old resident of Sacramento, has entered a guilty plea to charges related to the production of child sexual abuse materials. This development was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith.
Court documents reveal that in September 2022, Hughes used a child under 12 years old for sexually explicit activities with the intention of creating visual records of those actions in Sacramento. The offenses included hands-on violations and capturing videos and images of the abuse. The abuse reportedly began as early as 2017. Additionally, Hughes used the internet to persuade other minors to send him sexually explicit content by posing as an underage male himself. He also distributed such images while claiming to offer guidance or education on sexual acts. At his arrest, Hughes had a significant amount of child sexual abuse material.
The investigation was conducted by the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force, which comprises the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Shea J. Kenny is handling the prosecution.
Hughes remains in custody and awaits sentencing by U.S. District Judge Daniel J. Calabretta on July 10, 2025. He faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and could receive up to 30 years in prison along with a $250,000 fine. The final sentence will be decided by the court based on statutory factors and Federal Sentencing Guidelines.
This case falls under Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse through collaboration among federal, state, and local resources.
