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James Patrick Burns, 55, of Sparks, Nevada, who was already a
registered sex offender, faces a prison term of 25 years to life
when he is sentenced on June 10, the U.S. Attorney's Office in
Nevada said in announcing the conviction.
According to court documents and trial evidence, Burns used
threats to coerce children into producing pornographic imagery
and then posted this material to "dark web" forums carried by
such online platforms as Omegle, Snapchat, Tiktok and Mega.NZ.
At the time of these offenses, between 2018 and 2021, Burns "was
the most prolific creator of illegal content on these forums,"
the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
A federal court jury in Reno found him guilty on eight counts of
sexual exploitation of a minor, eight counts of coercion and
enticement of a minor and one count each of advertising,
receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography.
Prosecutors said Burns' child victims numbered more than 100,
many of whom have yet to be identified.
His role in the online child porn world came to the attention of
law enforcement when a mother of one of his victims noticed
threats on her child's cellphone and reported what she had seen
to police.
In a separate trial, Burns was also convicted of committing
various offenses while required to register as a sex offender.
The case was investigated by an FBI-led task force that included
local police and sheriff's detectives and received assistance
from law enforcement around the country, prosecutors said.
(Reporting by Steve Gorman in Los Angeles; Editing by David
Gregorio)
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