New Delhi: A 28-year-old Indian national has been sentenced to 121 months in prison in the US for transporting and possessing child sexual abuse material—as many as 600 images, a statement by the US Department of Justice said Wednesday.
According to the statement, Ashish Kapoor, also known as Romy Kapoor, now 28, a national of India, “was sentenced for transportation of child pornography, and possession of child pornography”, in violation of Title 18, United States Code.
It added that Kapoor travelled from Mumbai to New Orleans, Louisiana, on or about 21 February, 2024, with a cellular phone containing digital videos and computer images containing visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
“In addition, on 11 April, 2024, Kapoor downloaded a video depicting the sexual abuse of a child from an internet protocol address at his residence in New Orleans,” said the statement.
According to the superseding indictment, on or about 20 December, 2024, Kapoor also possessed digital videos and computer images containing “visual depictions of prepubescent minors under the age of 12 engaging in sexually explicit conduct”.
On 20 December, 2024, special agents from the US Department of Homeland Security and officers from the New Orleans Police Department arrested Kapoor.
“In a recorded statement, Kapoor confessed that he had seen and received child pornography using WhatsApp on his cellular phone,” said the statement.
Kapoor “also admitted to possessing more than 600 images depicting the sexual abuse of minors and further admitted that these items contained sadistic or masochistic conduct, as well as depicting the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers”.
“Beginning at a time unknown and continuing until on or about December 20, 2024, within the Eastern District of Louisiana, and elsewhere, the defendant, Ashish Kapoor, a/k/a Romy Kapoor, did knowingly possess, and attempt to possess, one or more matters, that is, a cellular phone, containing digital videos and computer images, that contained visual depictions that had been mailed, shipped, and transported in interstate and foreign commerce… the production of which involved the use of a minor who was prepubescent and under the age of twelve (12)-years-old…” reads the indictment.
US district judge Greg G. Guidry sentenced Kapoor to over 10 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and a mandatory special assessment fee of $200. He also ordered Kapoor to pay restitution in the amount of $3,000 to a victim. Kapoor will further be required to register as a sex offender upon release.
The 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 US Department of Justice.
Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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.
The case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security–Homeland Security Investigations, US Customs and Border Protection, and the New Orleans Police Department.
(Edited by Nida Fatima Siddiqui)
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