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CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA Leonardo Rubio, 23, of Beaufort, South Carolina, was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possession of child pornography.

Evidence presented to the Court showed that beginning in at least 2016 and continuing through June 11, 2021, Leonardo Rubio sought, received, produced, and distributed images, videos, and files containing child pornography using multiple cell phones, data storage devices, the Kik social media messaging application, and Dropbox online cloud storage. Rubios crimes were discovered after Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) special agents received a NCMEC CyberTip from Dropbox, which indicated Rubio had uploaded at least 10 images containing child pornography to their cloud service. The special agents then obtained a search warrant for Rubios residence located on the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort.

During a forensic examination of devices seized from Rubio, analysts located a total of 26,114 images and 1,505 videos containing child pornography involving prepubescent male and female victims ranging in age from 3 months to 14 years old. During interviews, Rubio informed agents he also had distributed between 150 to 200 images of child pornography to other individuals using the Kik messaging application. Rubio also admitted to sexually assaulting an 8- or 9-year-old relative, as well as photographing himself engaged in sexual contact with his wifes 7-year-old relative, when he was approximately 16 years old.

United States District Judge Bruce Howe Hendricks sentenced Rubio to 168 months in prison, to be followed by a life term of court-ordered supervision. There is no parole in the federal system. Judge Hendricks further ordered that the defendant pay $69,000 to the 23 victims seeking restitution in this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc.

This case was investigated by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service. Assistant U.S. Attorney Allessandra Stewart is prosecuting the case.

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Beaufort Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Federal Prison for ... - Department of Justice