Louis Donald Mendonsa, 62, was sentenced following a responsible plea for distributing youngster sexual abuse supplies (CSAM) through Darkish Net and different on-line networks after 6,5000 specific photos have been discovered on his gadgets.
A California resident, Louis Donald Mendonsa (62), has been sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal jail for his involvement in managing 4 unlawful web sites on the darkish internet that shared specific photos and movies of youngsters.
Mendonsa, a Sacramento native, performed a key function in sustaining these platforms, which have been energetic from December 2021 till his arrest in November 2022. He acquired his sentence on February 27, 2025, after pleading responsible in April 2024 to seven counts of distributing CSAM and one rely of possession.
The web sites, which operated on the darkish internet, a hidden a part of the web usually used for unlawful actions solely accessible by means of the Tor browser, allowed customers to promote, distribute, and commerce disturbing content material involving youngsters. In response to the US Division of Justice’s press release, one of many websites even featured materials depicting infants and toddlers.
Mendonsa not solely managed these platforms but additionally actively promoted and shared unlawful content material himself. His actions got here to gentle after regulation enforcement found his actions whereas he was utilizing public Wi-Fi at a neighborhood espresso store.
Upon arrest, a search of Mendonsa’s digital gadgets revealed roughly 6,500 specific photos, confirming the identities of a number of identified victims. This case is a part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Division of Justice in 2006 to fight the alarming rise in youngster sexual exploitation.
The mission brings collectively federal, state, and native regulation enforcement businesses to trace down, arrest, and prosecute people who exploit youngsters on-line, whereas additionally working to rescue victims.
