Illinois man sentenced to 40 years for raping infant while streaming it online

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Illinois man sentenced to 40 years for raping infant while streaming it online

2011-06-15 04:25:38 GMT+7 (ICT)

CHICAGO (BNO NEWS) -- An Illinois man has been sentenced to 40 years in federal prison for sexually molesting an infant while streaming the abuse online, prosecutors said on Tuesday. It ends one of the largest ever international child exploitation investigations in the United States.

Brian Annorneo, 35, was among several Chicago-area men who were charged in 2006 with participating in a private Internet chat room which was used to facilitate the trading of thousands of images of child pornography. He was sentenced on Friday, but details of the sentencing were not released until Tuesday.

According to prosecutors, Annoreno - who used the screen name "Acidburn" - admitted participating in an Internet chatroom known as "Kiddypics & Kiddyvids." The chatroom was hosted through a software program that allowed users to engage in peer-to-peer file sharing.

Annoreno admitted that between early 2005 and early 2006, he conspired with co-defendants Gregory J. Sweezer and Lisa A. Winebrenner and others to trade images of child pornography through the "Kiddypics & Kiddyvids" chatroom. Sweezer, also of Illinois, was sentenced in May 2008 to 12 years in prison and Winebrenner, of Iowa, was sentenced in March 2008 to 14 years in prison.

The chat room was maintained by a host and various administrators selected by the host, each of whom had special privileges, including establishing rules for participants. The primary host of the chat room was a Clarksville, Tennessee, man until he was arrested in 2006, when Winebrenner, previously an administrator, became the host and assumed responsibility for maintaining accessibility for its participants.

Annorneo was one of more than two dozen individuals in the United States, Canada, England, and elsewhere who were prosecuted after undercover investigators infiltrated the chatroom while they transmitted streaming video that showed the sexual assault of children.

The defendant in this case had previously pled guilty in December 2010 to one count each of conspiracy to receive, transmit and advertise child pornography, receiving child pornography, and possessing child pornography. He faced a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 50 years in prison under his written plea agreement, in which the government cited that Annoreno produced a live streaming video in which he was seen sexually molesting an infant.

Annorneo was ordered on Friday to serve 40 years in prison, although he will receive credit for the time he has already served in prison. Annorneo was arrested in January 2006 and has remained in federal custody ever since.

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Director John Morton welcomed the lengthy sentence. "Our investigators took aggressive action to target Brian Annoreno and take down the international network he was a part of that shockingly molested children 'on demand' for others to request and view in secure video chat rooms," he said. "We are grateful for the support we received from our exceptional global law enforcement partners in Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom to dismantle this international conspiracy that targeted children."

Patrick J. Fitzgerald, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, said the case involved the most disturbing criminal sexual assault of minors. "The exploitation of children in such a depraved manner can never be tolerated. We are grateful for the extremely close cooperation between federal, state and local investigators and prosecutors around the country led by the strong efforts of ICE-HSI investigators here in Chicago and the international cooperation spearheaded by Canadian authorities," Fitzgerald said.

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