Westchester Man Who Posed As Teen, Enticed 14-Year-Old, Gets 50 Years

MOUNT VERNON, NY — A Westchester sexual predator will spend decades behind bars for posing as a high school student to entice a child for sex on social media.

Damian Williams, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, announced on Friday that Leland Robinson, 35, of Mount Vernon, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for his enticement of a 14-year-old child to engage in sexual activity. In addition to the prison term, he was sentenced to 15 years of supervised release.

Robinson was convicted following a weeklong jury trial in July 2023.

"Leland Robinson’s crime is the nightmare of every parent of a child who uses a smartphone," Williams said. "Robinson met his victim on a social media application and then traveled to Connecticut, where he sexually assaulted the child outside the child’s home. I encourage parents and caregivers to have conversations with their children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers. We will continue to use every tool available to law enforcement to prosecute and punish those who seek to exploit our children."

According to court documents, in February of 2019, Robinson, who was 31 years old but posing as a high school student, met a 14-year-old boy on a social media app. Robinson sent the teen sexually explicit images and videos of himself and requested the same in return.

In the fall of 2019, Robinson agreed to provide the teen with a JUUL if the teen engaged in sex with Robinson. On several occasions in September and October of 2019, Robinson traveled to the teen's home in Connecticut. On October 24, 2019, Robinson returned to the teen's house and sexually assaulted him in the yard outside his house.

"People should understand that when they prey on kids, they will pay the price," Judge Kenneth M. Karas said when imposing the sentence.

Williams praised the efforts of the FBI, the New Canaan Police Department, and the Greensboro Police Department in Greensboro, North Carolina, in connection with this investigation.

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