San Mateo Man Sentenced To More Than 11 Years In Prison For Receiving Child Pornography

 Defendant Convinced Four Minor Girls To Make And Send Images And Videos Of Themselves Engaged In Sexual Conduct, And Attempted To Entice At Least Two More

SAN FRANCISCO – Adrian Kyle Benjamin was sentenced today in federal court to 135 months in prison for his conviction for the receipt of child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Stephanie M. Hinds and Federal Bureau of Investigation Special Agent in Charge Craig D. Fair.  The sentence was handed down by United States District Judge Susan Illston. 

Before sentencing today, Benjamin, 25, of San Mateo, pleaded guilty to the July 30, 2018, receipt of child pornography.  Benjamin admitted in his plea agreement filed today that in 2018 he began communicating with a girl based in Washington state whom he knew was 14 years old.  Benjamin enticed the 14 year old to engage in sexually explicit conduct and to send him visual depictions of her engaging in the conduct.  Benjamin admitted he received approximately seven images and three videos from this minor depicting sexually explicit conduct.

Benjamin further admitted in his plea agreement that he similarly exploited three other minor victims, enticing them also to engage in sexually explicit conduct and to send him visual depictions of it.  He admitted that he communicated in 2018 with a minor victim based in Australia who told him she was 13 years old.  Benjamin convinced her to make and send him three videos of herself engaging in sexually explicit conduct.  Similarly, Benjamin admitted that he communicated in 2018 with a minor girl in Texas who informed him she was 15 years old.  He convinced her to send images and videos of her sexually explicit conduct, and she made and sent Benjamin 50 images and four videos.  In at least two of these videos, Benjamin provided specific instructions as to the conduct to be recorded.  Benjamin further admitted in his plea agreement that in 2019 he communicated with a minor Canadian high school student.  As stated in a sentencing memorandum filed by the government, in one communication Benjamin joked that the minor victim was “old” because she was 17 years old.  Benjamin convinced her to send five videos and one image of her engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Benjamin also admitted in his plea agreement that he attempted to entice at least two other minor victims to engage in sexually explicit conduct and send visual depictions of the conduct to him.  One of them lived in California, and the other lived in Connecticut.  These minor girls told Benjamin that they were between 14 and 15 years old. 

The 135 month prison sentence for Benjamin was handed down today following Benjamin’s guilty plea to the receipt of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1).  United States District Judge Susan Illston also sentenced the defendant to a ten year period of supervised release following his release from prison.

Mohit Gourisaria and Molly Priedeman are the Assistant U.S. Attorneys who are prosecuting the case with the assistance of Veronica Hernandez and Maribel Gallegos.  The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.