N.J. Man Arrested, Charged in Child Porn Sting

NEWARK, N.J. — A criminal complaint was filed Friday in U.S. District Court against Richard Leitenberger, 40, who was arrested in late July by New Jersey law enforcement for possessing child pornography, after an elaborate sting by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service.

Leitenberger was arrested at a New Jersey post office attempting to pick up the child pornography from his post office box. He confessed to ordering the videos on the site after being read his Miranda rights by officers.

According to the complaint, Leitenberger was targeted by the postal police because his name turned up as a customer of what the complaint calls an online "global child pornography enterprise."

“The investigation resulted in the identification of a company processing credit card transactions for subscriptions to child pornography websites,” the complaint alleges. “As a result of these searches, agents recovered customer records of individuals residing in the U.S. As part of the continuing undercover investigation agents subscribed to the websites related to these records. The vast majority of these websites featured child pornography.”

The sting began last fall when Leitenberger received an unsolicited letter at his home in New Jersey from a company known as JMG Products. JMG offered Leitenberger a catalog of kiddy porn films that were “taboo, very rare, forbidden and illegal material.”

Multiple letters were sent to Leitenberger offering child pornography on video, CD-ROMS and DVDs and purportedly included content with young boys, young girls and adults with children.

The complaint from the postal police includes alleged copies of Leitenberger’s emails to JMG’s Yahoo email account where he asked for videos featuring girls, ages 9-15. According to the complaint, Leitenberger then ordered nine videos from JMG and sent a money order for $180.

An online search shows that the undercover email address — jmgvids@yahoo.com — is still active and was included in 15 newsgroup postings between February and May. The postings advertise a collection of "hardcore preteen" videos.

Leitenberger will be arraigned, but no court date has yet been given.

Related:  

Copyright © 2024 Adnet Media. All Rights Reserved. XBIZ is a trademark of Adnet Media.
Reproduction in whole or in part in any form or medium without express written permission is prohibited.

More News

Age Verification: FSC's Mike Stabile Reports from the Frontlines

Two years into the religiously-inspired crusade to ban free access to adult material in the U.S. through carefully drafted "age verification" legislation, the constant onslaught of state-by-state proposals and laws — many of them copied from each other — can be hard to follow.

Judge Acquits Backpage Defendants of Most Charges Before 2nd Retrial

A federal judge acquitted former co-owner of Backpage.com Michael Lacey and two co-defendants on most of the counts remaining from the protracted trial launched against the website operators by the Justice Department in 2018.

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp Signs Age Verification Bill Into Law

Republican Gov. Brian Kemp this week signed into law a bill that includes provisions requiring age verification for viewing adult content in Georgia, mirroring legislation being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Aylo Asks Judge to Trim Sweeping GDP-Related Lawsuit

Aylo asked a California federal judge during a hearing on Monday to drop trafficking claims from a sweeping lawsuit brought by a former GirlsDoPorn model.

California Republicans, Democrats Team Up to Advance Age Verification for Porn

Both Republicans and Democrats in the California Assembly’s Privacy and Consumer Protection Committee voted last week to move forward a version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists.

Washington Post Spotlights ECP VP Solomon Friedman's Appearance at XBIZ LA

The Washington Post published this weekend a lengthy feature about Pornhub and Aylo, focusing on Ethical Capital Partners’ VP of Compliance Solomon Friedman’s keynote address and other appearances at XBIZ Los Angeles in January.

'Sex Workers Deserve Protections': Congressional Candidate Joe Cohn Reaches Out to Adult Community

Veteran civil rights attorney Joe Cohn, who is currently running in a New Jersey Democratic primary for a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, says he is reaching out to the adult community to champion an inclusive approach to civil liberties that encompasses all sex workers and adult businesses.

Seoul Authorities Force Cancellation of Adult Expo for 'Distorting Perceptions of Sex'

After Seoul authorities repeatedly prevented 2024 KXF The Fashion from finding a suitable venue, event organizers have canceled the popular Korean adult industry expo, which was scheduled for this week.

FSC to Hold Discussion on Adult Industry Rights With Congressional Candidate Joe Cohn

Free Speech Coalition will hold a virtual discussion with congressional candidate Joe Cohn, whom the organization calls a strong advocate for adult industry rights.

Democratic Governor Fails to Veto Kansas Age Verification Bill

Kansas’ Democratic governor, Laura Kelly, expressed strong reservations about the state’s version of the age verification bills being sponsored around the country by anti-porn religious conservative activists, but ultimately decided not to veto it, allowing the legislation to become law by default without her signature.

Show More