Minneapolis Man Sentenced to 35 Years in Prison for Using Snapchat to Produce Child Pornography

ST. PAUL, Minn. – A Minneapolis man was sentenced to 420 months in prison followed by a lifetime term of supervised release for producing sexually explicit videos of minors, announced United States Attorney Andrew M. Luger. 

According to court documents, in March 2020, Jay Tyrell Whiteford, 40, used his cell phone and Snapchat account to communicate with at least two minors. In his communications, Whiteford used an alias and told the minor he was 16 years old. He induced the minors to create and send to him sexually explicit videos and images.

Whiteford was sentenced yesterday in U.S. District Court before Judge Eric C. Tostrud. On June 17, 2022, he pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.

This case was the result of an investigation conducted by the FBI and the Minneapolis Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey E. Middlecamp prosecuted the case.