Ocean County Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Producing Images of Sexual Abuse of Children and Advertising Child Pornography

 TRENTON, N.J. – An Ocean County, New Jersey, man was sentenced today to 40 years in prison for producing images of himself sexually abusing young children, Acting U.S. Attorney Rachael A. Honig announced.

Sebastien Attar, 36, of Brick, New Jersey, previously pleaded guilty before U.S. District Peter G. Sheridan to an information charging him with two counts of sexual exploitation of children. Separately, Attar also pleaded guilty before Judge Sheridan to a superseding indictment charging him with one count of advertising child pornography. Judge Sheridan imposed the sentence today in Trenton federal court.

According to documents filed in the case and statements filed in court:

Beginning in mid-2017, federal law enforcement began investigating individuals participating in a private chat messaging group dedicated to the discussion and dissemination of images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. The private chat group was named “Taboo Train 2.0,” and law enforcement identified Attar as a member of that group, operating with the account identifier “Seb Seb.” The investigation revealed that on multiple occasions and in response to requests from other users, Attar, operating as “Seb Seb,” shared with the “Taboo Train 2.0” chat group images depicting adults sexually abusing very young children.

In March 2018, in connection with the investigation of the “Taboo Train 2.0” chat group, federal law enforcement agents executed a search warrant at Attar’s Brick, New Jersey residence, and seized a number of electronic devices and electronic storage media. In July 2018, a grand jury sitting in the Northern District of Georgia returned a superseding indictment charging Attar and others with advertising child pornography.

During a forensic review of the electronic media seized pursuant to the search of Attar’s residence, law enforcement discovered graphic images in which an individual – later identified as Attar – had photographed himself sexually abusing two infants. Attar was subsequently arrested and charged in a criminal complaint filed in the District of New Jersey. As part of the plea agreement, the superseding indictment filed in the Northern District of Georgia against Attar was formally transferred to the District of New Jersey so that Attar could plead guilty to that charge in conjunction with his guilty plea to the information filed in this district.

In addition to the prison term, Judge Sheridan sentenced Attar to lifetime supervised release.

Acting U.S. Attorney Honig credited special agents of the FBI-Newark Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge George M. Crouch Jr., and special agents of the FBI-Atlanta Field Office, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge J.C. Hacker, with the investigations leading to today’s guilty pleas. She also thanked prosecutors from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia, under the direction of Acting U.S. Attorney Kurt R. Erskine, for their assistance.

The government is represented by J. Brendan Day, Attorney in Charge of the Trenton Office of the U.S. Attorney’s Office.