SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Jarod Perdichizzi, 30, of Lodi, pleaded guilty today to distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.
According to court documents, in July 2016, Perdichizzi used the Kik messenger service to chat online with someone who, unbeknownst to Perdichizzi, was an undercover federal agent. Perdichizzi sought information about how he could become sexually active with a minor female and also emailed images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct to the undercover agent. After executing a federal search warrant at Perdichizzi’s residence, agents found a thumb drive containing 88 images and nine videos of child pornography. Perdichizzi has been in custody since his arrest on July 28, 2016.
This case is the product of an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Assistant U.S. Attorney Matthew D. Segal is prosecuting the case.
Perdichizzi is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on June 13, 2017. Perdichizzi faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet safety education.