Mississippi man sentenced for possessing 70,000 child pornography images following ICE HSI investigation
GULFPORT, Miss. – A Mississippi man was sentenced August 8 in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Mississippi to 14 years in federal prison for three counts of knowingly possessing child pornography. The sentencing follows an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Taryn Goin Naidoo, 41, of Diamondhead, Miss., received three sentences totaling 170 months, set to run concurrently, followed by 15 years of supervised release.
“Predators who possess this type of imagery are re-victimizing innocent and vulnerable children every time a photo or video is shared,” said HSI New Orleans acting Special Agent in Charge Gilbert Trill. “HSI special agents and our law enforcement partners will relentlessly pursue child predators, in every form, and ensure those who commit these atrocious crimes are brought to justice.”
From July 2017 through October 2018, HSI conducted an investigation with the Hancock County Sheriff’s Office and the Diamondhead Police Department resulting in the seizure and forensic examination of multiple electronic devices found at Naidoo’s residence. The devices included micro SD cards, laptop computers, tablets, and hard drives. Further investigation proved Naidoo knowingly possessed over 70,000 images and videos of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including images of minors under the age of 12.
Naidoo was charged in a federal criminal indictment September 7, 2018, and in a superseding indictment May 29, 2019. He was found guilty by a federal jury January 10, 2020, after a five-day trial in U.S. District Court in Gulfport.
This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Andrea Jones and Ralph Paradiso of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 25,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child exploitation material, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2019, more than 3,500 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
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