Las Vegas Man Pleads Guilty in Louisiana Court and Sentenced to 30 Years in Prison for Conspiring to Advertise Distribution of Child Pornography

Shreveport, Louisiana - A Las Vegas man has pleaded guilty in federal court in Louisiana to conspiracy to advertise the distribution of child pornography in a private chat group and has been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

On January 5, 2023, United States Attorney Brandon B. Brown announced that Alexander D. Pennington, 35, of Las Vegas, Nevada, has been sentenced in a federal court in Louisiana by United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. to 30 years in prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, on child pornography charges. Pennington was also ordered to pay restitution in the amount of $10,000.

Pennington was charged with conspiracy to advertise the distribution of child pornography in a superseding indictment in November 2021. On August 30, 2022, he pleaded guilty to the accusation. According to evidence presented in court, Pennington was a sub-administrator of private chat groups on the Kik Messenger program and had his own username from May 1, 2021, to July 7, 2021. These private chat rooms were solely for the promotion and dissemination of child pornography. Pennington enforced the rules of the private chat groups as a sub-administrator, one of which compelled members of the secret chat groups to post child pornography or be removed from the groups.

Pennington, a.k.a. "grimka00," posted an advertisement in the private chat group "Sneak & Peak" on or about June 1, 2021, for the purpose of obtaining and showing child pornography. The advertisement featured a note that read, "Any babies?" and an image of a nude female baby.

The Department of Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, which was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jessica D. Cassidy.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a countrywide campaign led by the United States Department of Justice to tackle the growing pandemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood, led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, combines federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. To learn more about Project Safe Childhood, go to www.projectsafechildhood.gov.