PASCO COUNTY, Fla – A Florida man, age 43, was given a term for operating an operation that engaged in child exploitation and exploited children as young as 12 years old. The enterprise exploited the children.
On Wednesday, the court handed Kyle William Leishear, 43, of Bayonet Point, Florida, a punishment that included a prison term of 20 years.
On April 25, three of Leishear’s co-defendants were handed sentences for their roles in a child exploitation enterprise.
Christopher William Kuehner, 38, of Bremerton, Washington, was sentenced to 20 years in prison; Jacob Royce Mullins, 20, of South Webster, Ohio, was sentenced to seven years in prison; and Matthew Martin, 25, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison. Leishear was given a sentence of probation.
According to Assistant Attorney General Kenneth A. Polite, Jr. of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, “We cannot and will not tolerate websites like Rapey. su that invite and encourage members to congregate, discuss, and engage in the sexual exploitation of children and young women, to memorialize this exploitation, and to distribute illegal sexually explicit images of the victims.”
“The Department of Justice is committed to rooting out these websites and bringing to justice those who join them for the purpose of perpetuating the victimization of some of the most vulnerable members of society,” the Department of Justice stated in a statement.
According to the materials that were submitted to the court, Leishear, Kuehner, Mullins, and Martin were all major members of the website known as “Rapey. su,” which was committed, among other things, to the sexual exploitation of children.
After becoming a member of the website, Leishear persuaded a number of young people, including one who was just 12 years old at the time, to create and post sexually graphic photos of themselves.
Additionally, Kuehner routinely coerced individuals who were underage to create and upload sexually graphic pictures and films to the website. In addition to this, Leishear made an attempt to spread content on the website that depicted the sexual assault of children.
Both Mullins and Martin were responsible for the serial distribution of child sexual abuse material photographs on the website. Additionally, Mullins induced another website used to generate and post sexually explicit images of a minor victim. Martin was also responsible for the distribution of these images.
“I am thankful for the tireless effort that our agents and prosecutors have put in to seek justice in this heinous case. According to the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Jessica D. Aber, “These defendants caused unimaginable trauma on their victims, which was exacerbated by the group’s online sharing of their abuse.”
This case demonstrates that offenders will not be protected from facing full punishment for their illegal behavior committed online even if they use the anonymity afforded by the internet.
Derek W. Gordon, the Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Washington, D.C., stated that “the actions of the four individuals, in this case, were nothing short of reprehensible,” according to the investigation.
They shamelessly attacked the most defenseless members of our community in order to fulfill their own sick ambitions. HSI Washington, D.C. is still dedicated to preventing the abuse of children and holding those who prey on children accountable for their actions.
HSI continues to maintain a high level of vigilance in its search for signs of child exploitation throughout all of our communities.
