BOSTON - A Bellmawr, N.J., man was charged yesterday in
federal court in Worcester in connection with attempting to sexually exploit an
11-year-old boy.
Jordan Winczuk, 34, was indicted on one count of attempted
sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of committing a felony offense
involving a minor while being required to register as a sex offender. Winczuk
is currently in state custody in New Jersey on unrelated charges.
According to the charging document, Winczuk attempted to
persuade an 11-year-old Worcester boy, whom he had met through social media
days prior, to send him images of his genitals via Instagram. As a result of a
2010 conviction for sexually assaulting a boy and endangering the welfare of a
child through the distribution of child pornography, Winczuk is a level 3 sex
offender.
If convicted of the attempted sexual exploitation, Winczuk
faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison, a minimum of five years
and up to a lifetime of supervised release, and a $250,000 fine. The charge of
committing the offense while being required to register as a sex offender
provides for a mandatory 10 year sentence, to be served consecutive to the
sentence imposed on the sexual exploitation charge. Sentences are imposed by a
federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and
other statutory factors.
United States Attorney Andrew E. Lelling and Joseph R.
Bonavolonta, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Boston
Field Division, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen M. Noto
of Lelling’s Worcester Branch Office is prosecuting the case.
The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In
2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide
initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the
U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section,
Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate,
apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify
and rescue victims. For more information
about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov/.
The details contained in the indictment are allegations. The
defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a
reasonable doubt in a court of law.
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