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The U.S. Department of Justice said 33-year-old Justin Lee Snowden of Pasadena was sentenced to prison Tuesday in a child pornography case. A stock photo of handcuffs is shown above. (Renee Schiavone/Patch)
PASADENA, MD - A Pasadena man who pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge was sentenced to prison on Tuesday, prosecutors said.
The U.S. Department of Justice said 33-year-old Justin Lee Snowden will spend eight years and one month behind bars. He will then have 15 years of supervised probation.
The prosecution alleged that Snowden participated in three online chats about child sexual abuse with undercover agents.
The Department of Justice said the first was on Aug. 19, 2022 when Snowden messaged an undercover officer from San Francisco. The DOJ accused Snowden of offering a female child, whom he falsely claimed was his daughter, to someone he thought had a sexual interest in children.
A press release said Snowden on Sept. 17, 2022 spoke with another undercover agent in Tampa, Florida about the abuse of girls he again claimed were his daughters.
Prosecutors said Snowden continued the next day with an undercover officer in Washington, D.C. This officer was a member of the joint Metropolitan Police Department - FBI Child Exploitation Task Force.
Snowden offered his purported 5- and 7-year-old daughters for sex with members of the group, the DOJ alleged.
The release also said Snowden sent others non-explicit pictures of two minor females and claimed that he had sexually abused the girls.
The prosecution said Snowden later sent a photo to the undercover agent of a nude toddler lying on her back with her legs spread and a video depicting an adult man sexually abusing a prepubescent child.
Snowden asked the undercover agent for sexually explicit images of the agent’s supposed daughter, the DOJ said.
In reality, Snowden does not have any children.
Snowden was arrested on Sept. 26, 2022 in Washington, D.C. and has been detained ever since, the release said.
Prosecutors said he pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography on July 7.
"On each occasion, Snowden had every reason to believe that he was chatting with someone who intended to sexually abuse a child or who was actively abusing one," the DOJ said in its release. "Because law enforcement intervened, Snowden’s actions did not lead to the hands-on sexual abuse of an actual child."
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