Pedophile Filmed Himself Raping Infant, Distributed Videos Online

A pedophile from Bradenton, Florida, was sentenced to 70 years in prison for raping an infant girl and posting the footage online.

In a statement Thursday, the United States Department of Justice said, 31-year-old James Lockhart “produced a sexually violent four-video series of child sex abuse where he recorded himself having sex with a one-year-old child” between March 2016 and February 2018 before posting the footage online.

“In the videos, Lockhart displayed signs bearing the dark web forum’s name and his online moniker in order to gain notoriety in the forum and elsewhere,” the statement said. Investigators conducted a search and sized devices containing child pornography from his home.

“Lockhart’s child pornography collection included infants and sadomasochistic and violent conduct,” the statement said, adding that in the online forum, the accused bragged about sexually abusing another infant child and also asked for suggestions to make more such videos.

The videos were shown to the victim’s mother who identified the baby as her daughter. In one of the clips, the baby’s stuffed toy was also seen in the background. The man pleaded guilty to the crimes earlier this year and was sentenced to imprisonment Thursday.

“This deviant committed the most horrible atrocities imaginable to a one-year-old child. HSI’s national and international partnerships have helped ensure that this predator will never again harm a child,” said Homeland Security agent Michael B. Cochran.

In a similar incident in March, a U.K. court sentenced a pedophile to 15 years in prison for raping a six-month-old girl and recording the act in order to gain access to an online child abuse club. The court heard that Tashan Gallagher, 35, wanted to join a pedophile discussion group which was only accessible to people who posted abuse images. Following a report from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, police conducted a search and arrested the accused. During interrogation, he admitted to the crime and according to reports, he also sexually assaulted a two-year-old boy.