A Texas man was sentenced on Aug. 4 in United States District Court to 25 years in prison for his role in the exploitation of a child and production of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer announced.
“Crimes against children strike at the heart of our communities, and the exploitation of a child is among the most disturbing crimes we encounter. This case is particularly egregious because it involved a man directing and commanding a mother to abuse her own four-year-old child and then capture those images in video recordings. Particularly troubling is the fact that this defendant was already a registered sex offender. The children of our state deserve to be protected. Our Office is committed to holding accountable anyone who exploits children, whether they abuse a child directly or direct others to do so. Today’s sentence sends a clear message: Those who prey on children will be identified, prosecuted, and held fully accountable for the devastating harm they cause,” Frazer said.
Russell Lynn Davis, Jr., 48, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Edward S. Kiel in Camden federal court to conspiracy to sexually exploit a child, sexual exploitation of a child, and receipt of child pornography. Judge Kiel imposed the sentence following Davis’s admission that between June and August 2021 he received at least fourteen videos from an individual based in New Jersey who engaged in sexual contact with her then-four-year-old child at Davis’s direction.
According to documents filed in these cases and statements made in court, law enforcement reviewed messages showing that Davis had directed specific acts against the victim by instructing the abuser via electronic communication. In addition to his prison term, Davis was also sentenced to ten years supervised release.
U.S. Attorney Frazer credited FBI Newark’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force with investigating this case as part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating growing rates of child sexual exploitation through coordinated efforts among federal, state, and local agencies.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of New Jersey prosecutes federal crimes across New Jersey; it staffs about 170 attorneys and support personnel working from offices located in Newark, Trenton, and Camden; it advances community safety through law enforcement coordination; its alumni include federal judges and U.S. senators; it represents the United States in civil matters statewide; it operates as part of the Department of Justice—according to its official website.