UPDATE MAY 3, 2019: 37-year-old Lonny Joseph DiTirro has been sentenced to 140 years in federal prison for producing child pornography and possessing hundreds of images and videos of child pornography.
“Today’s sentence sends a strong message that we will hold child sexual predators accountable and bring them to justice,” said U.S. Attorney Trutanich. “Through our Project Safe Childhood initiative, in collaboration with local and federal partners, we will prosecute individuals who prey on our children and commit heinous and violent acts against them.”
ORIGINAL STORY
A Las Vegas man was found guilty Wednesday of producing and possessing child pornography.
Following a three-day trial, a jury convicted Lonny Joseph DiTirro Jr., 36, of four counts of sexual exploitation of children by producing child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.
Sentencing is scheduled for Feb. 6. The maximum possible statutory penalty is 140 years imprisonment.
According to evidence presented at trial, on Sept. 10, 2015, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department received a concerned citizen’s report of possible child exploitation. The responding officers conducted an interview with the concerned citizen who stated she found a SD card belonging to DiTirro that contained child pornography.
Law enforcement later executed a search warrant on the SD card. A forensic examination of the SD card revealed 254 images and 42 videos of child pornography, depicting infants, toddlers, and sadomasochism/violence. The SD card also contained over 50 folders bearing the names and ages of minor females that contained nude photos and videos of the minors.
Law enforcement identified several victims who all testified that they met DiTirro on a social media/dating application called MeetMe when they were under the age of 16. The victims further testified that DiTirro lied to the victims about his age, claiming he was a teenager or in his 20s, and went as far as falsifying his birth certificate in an effort to coerce, entice and induce the victims into various sexual activities.
Evidence presented at trial showed that DiTirro recorded sex acts with the minor victims, and that he created screenshots of sexually explicit Skype video chats of the victims. DiTirro catalogued these videos and screenshots on the SD card.
The case was investigated by the FBI and the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department.
Investigation concerning other potential victims in this case is ongoing. If you have information about DiTirro or believe you or someone you know may have been a victim, you are encouraged to contact the nearest FBI field office, local law enforcement, or the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) CyberTipline at www.cybertipline.org.
