Leicester Man Sentenced To 24 Years For Producing Child Pornography

BOSTON – A Leicester man was sentenced today for various child pornography crimes.

Jason Clark, 31, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to 24 years in prison to be followed by 10 years of supervised release. In May 2013, Clark pleaded guilty to five counts of sexual exploitation of a child, distribution of child pornography, transportation of child pornography and possession of child pornography.

Between October 2010 and October 2011, Clark used a five-year-old minor to produce child pornography and disseminated child pornography on the internet by trading it with other collectors and by posting it to websites.

Clark took pictures of his own sexual abuse of the five-year old girl that he gained access to because he was close friends with the child’s mother and the mother’s fiancé. Clark would stay overnight at their house and sleep in a room adjacent to the child’s room. He would also babysit the child, and lead the parents to believe that he was a caring friend. Clark, in e-mails and in a message he posted on the internet, expressed a desire to sexually abuse other young children, including a toddler. While addressing the Court, Clark admitted that he betrayed the trust of the child who looked up to him, and his best friend, the mother’s fiancé.

In addition, Clark cooperated with the government which resulted in the conviction of Anthony Hanifan, in Florida State Court on numerous charges including sexual battery of a two-year old girl. Hanafan faces a mandatory minimum sentence of life in prison in Florida.

“This case shows how the sexual abuse of children is often driven by the desire to feed the market for online child pornography,” said United States Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz. “People who produce, solicit, trade, and collect child pornography can cause a lifetime of pain for children and those closest to the young victims.”

U.S. Attorney Ortiz; Mark G. Mastroianni, Hampden County District Attorney; and Colonel Timothy B. Alben, Superintendent of the Massachusetts State Police made the announcement today. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Alex J. Grant of Ortiz’s Springfield Branch Unit.