United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald today announced
the sentencing of JUSTIN THOMAS CHAPMAN, 38, to 180 months in prison for
distributing child pornography. CHAPMAN, who pleaded guilty on May 8, 2019, was
sentenced today before Judge Eric C. Tostrud in U.S. District Court in St.
Paul, Minnesota.
According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court,
from March 2017 through August 10, 2018, CHAPMAN moderated and participated in
online chatrooms where participants distributed, traded, and received child
pornography. CHAPMAN and other participants also used the chatrooms to express
their preferences in child pornography as well as discuss means to avoid
detection by law enforcement. As a chatroom moderator, CHAPMAN communicated and
enforced the “rules” of the chatrooms, including limits on content, the way
child pornography could be shared, and a code of conduct for the chatroom
members.
According to his guilty plea and documents filed in court,
after the execution of a search warrant at CHAPMAN’S residence, CHAPMAN
obstructed the FBI’s investigation by warning others in the chatrooms that the
FBI was aware of their activities.
This case was the result of an investigation conducted by
the FBI.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Manda
M. Sertich and Alexander D. Chiquoine.
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