Jason L. Pea, a 32-year-old resident of Fort Wayne, Indiana, has been sentenced to 300 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of sexual exploitation of children and distributing child pornography. The sentence was handed down by United States District Court Chief Judge Holly A. Brady.
Following his prison term, Pea will be subject to lifetime supervision and is required to pay $12,000 in restitution. He was also ordered to pay a special assessment of $5,000 under the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018.
Court documents state that in the fall of 2024, Pea contacted a thirteen-year-old girl in Missouri through social media. He offered her money in exchange for sexually explicit photos and videos. After receiving the materials from the minor, Pea threatened to publish them unless she returned some of the money or provided contact information for her friends. Despite the victim returning part of the payment, Pea distributed an explicit video involving the minor to another child.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and Allen County Sheriff’s Violent Crimes Against Children Task Force executed a search warrant at Pea’s home in Allen County, Indiana. They recovered communication devices used in committing these offenses. At the time of these crimes, Pea was already a registered sex offender due to a previous conviction for sexual misconduct with a minor in 2016.
“Jason Pea reached out through the internet to inflict devastating abuse on an innocent girl living hundreds of miles away,” said U.S. Attorney Adam L. Mildred. “He compounded this heinous crime by threatening to distribute the products of that abuse to blackmail the minor victim into providing access to her friends. And as a final twist, he ignored the minor victim’s compliance with that blackmail and distributed the abusive materials to another minor anyway. He did all this despite having already once been convicted and punished for a sexual offense. Thankfully, the excellent work of our law enforcement and prosecutorial teams resulted in a long prison sentence and a lifetime of court-ordered supervision that will stop this repeat sex offender from preying on our children for the rest of his life. I would like to thank each and every one of them for their efforts.”
“Every image and video of child sexual abuse represents a real child who has been harmed and demands a decisive law-enforcement response,” said FBI Indianapolis Special Agent in Charge Timothy J. O’Malley. “This 300-month sentence reflects the seriousness of the harm caused and sends a clear message that those who prey on children and distribute this material will be aggressively pursued and held fully accountable.”
The investigation was conducted by the FBI with support from local authorities, while Assistant United States Attorney Stacey R. Speith prosecuted the case.
This prosecution falls under Project Safe Childhood—a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 aimed at protecting children from exploitation by coordinating federal, state, and local resources for apprehending offenders and rescuing victims nationwide.
For more details about Project Safe Childhood visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
