Date: 02-27-2025

Case Style:

United States of America v. Louis Donald Mendonsa

Case Number: 22-CR-243

Judge: Not Available

Court: The United States District Court for the Eastern District of California (Sacramento County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: The United States Attorney’s Office for Sacramento

Defendant's Attorney:

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Description:

Sacramento, California criminal defense lawyer represented the Defendant charged with operating four websites dedicated to sharing images of child sexual abuse.
Sacramento Man Sentenced to over 24 Years in Prison for Running Multiple Dark Web Child Sexual Abuse Websites

Louis Donald Mendonsa, 62, of Sacramento, was indicted for his role in operating four websites dedicated to sharing images of child sexual abuse.

Mendonsa assisted with managing and maintaining four different websites that operated on the dark web from at least December 2021 until his arrest November 2022. Each of these websites were dedicated to advertising, distributing, and exchanging images and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children. One of the websites allowed members to post images and videos of children as young as infants and toddlers. While using the internet at a local coffee shop, Mendonsa advertised and distributed child sexual abuse images over these websites and assisted others with running the websites. His electronic devices were found to contain images of child sexual abuse images, approximately 6,500 of which depicted identified victims of his conduct.

Mendonsa pleaded guilty in April 2024 to seven counts of distribution and one count of possession of child pornography.

This case was the product of an investigation by HSI with assistance by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, the Sacramento Police Department, and the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Emily Sauvageau and Christina McCall for the Eastern District of California and CEOS Trial Attorney Kaylynn Foulon prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Outcome:

Defendant was found guilty and sentenced to 24 years and four months in prison

Plaintiff's Experts:

Defendant's Experts:

Comments: