Date: 04-03-2024

Case Style:

United States of America v. Donte Mintz

Case Number: 1:22-CR-178

Judge: Jia M. Cobb

Court: The United States District Court for the District of Columbia (Washington County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Washington, D.C.

Defendant's Attorney: David Barry Benowitz and Matthew Wilson - 202-417-6000


Amy C. Collins - 228-424-0609

Description:

Washington, D.C. criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with Recipient of Child Pornography.

Recipient of Child Pornography Sentenced to Six Years in Prison, 10 Years of Supervised Release

Donte Mintz, 30, of Southeast Washington D.C., was sentenced to 72 months in prison for receiving numerous images and videos of child pornography, some of which depicted the rape and torture of real children as young as toddlers.

Mintz possessed, received, and distributed child pornography. Specifically, in October 2020, an employee from Dropbox reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that there was suspected child sex abuse material (CSAM) found uploaded to Dropbox servers from Mintz’s account. On November 11, 2020, an employee working for the messaging application, KIK, reported to NCMEC that suspected CSAM had been found on its servers as well. KIK reported the user of two KIK accounts – both utilized by Mintz – sent the CSAM to other users through the chat feature of the application at the end of 2020.

Mintz pleaded guilty to attempted receipt of child pornography on June 14, 2023, before U.S. District Judge Jia M. Cobb. Judge Cobb accepted the guilty plea on April 2, 2024. In addition to the prison term, Judge Cobb ordered Mintz to serve 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender. Restitution to Mintz’s victims is to be determined at a later date.

On Thursday, July 8, 2021, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at Mintz’s apartment in Southeast Washington, D.C. During an interview on this same date, Mintz admitted to sharing, uploading, and viewing child sex abuse material. A review of Mintz’s cellular phones and laptop revealed thousands of files containing CSAM, including more than 230 known and identified victims. Mintz was a member of many online communities where he exchanged and discussed sexual abuse material. He then saved his child sexual abuse material to a Dropbox account and to electronic devices that he could access anywhere.

This case was investigated by detectives from the Metropolitan Police Department’s Youth and Family Services Division, Internet Crimes Against Children Unit, the Northern Virginia Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the FBI’s Washington Field Office.

It was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Forman and Jocelyn Bond, as well as former Assistant U.S. Attorney Angela Buckner.

Outcome:

Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 72 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release and register as a sex offender

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: