FL Man Who Solicited Child Porn For Website Sentenced: DOJ

WASHINGTON, DC — A Florida man was among four people sentenced this week for their participation in a website dedicated to child sexual exploitation, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.

Kyle William Leishear, 43, of Bayonet Point, was sentenced to 20 years in prison Wednesday after authorities said he convinced multiple underage victims — including a 12-year-old — to produce and share sexually explicit images on the website Rapey.su.

Federal authorities said Leishear also attempted to distribute material depicting child sexual abuse on the website.

"These defendants caused immeasurable trauma on their victims, amplified by the group’s online sharing of their abuse,” U.S. Attorney Jessica Aber for the Eastern District of Virginia said in a news release. “This case shows that internet anonymity will not protect offenders from facing full accountability for their illegal online conduct.”

Leishear's co-defendants in the case were Christopher W. Kuehner, 38, of Bremerton, Washington, who was sentenced to 20 years in prison; Jacob R. Mullins, 20, of South Webster, Ohio, who was sentenced to seven years in prison; and Matthew Martin, 25, of Lancaster, Wisconsin, who was sentenced to six years and eight months in prison.

This case was brought to prosecutors by Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.