ROCHESTER, NY—U.S. Attorney William J. Hochul, Jr. announced today that Terrance Junot, III, 37, of Greece, New York, who was convicted of online enticement of a minor, was sentenced to 12 years in prison by U.S. District Court Judge Frank P. Geraci. The defendant was also placed on supervised release for 10 years upon his release. He will also have to register as a sex offender.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig R. Gestring, who handled the case, stated that the defendant engaged in a series of sexually explicit online communications with a 13-year-old child who was a family friend. During those communications, Junot repeatedly talked about having sex with the child,and persuaded her to produce sexually explicit photographs of herself that he then made her send to him over the Internet. The defendant also sent sexually explicit photos of himself to the child during these chats in order to groom and manipulate her into sending her photos to him. The government noted at sentencing that the defendant would spend time with the victim’s parents during the day bowling, while at the same time sexually exploiting their 13-year-old daughter at night without their knowledge.
The case came to the attention of law enforcement after the child’s mother found naked photos of the defendant on her child’s phone. The parent recognized Junot and took the phone to the Greece Police, who began an investigation. When the defendant learned that law enforcement would be investigating, he erased all the photos, chats, and even the chat program he used to solicit and entice the child from his cell phone. This conduct resulted in a sentencing enhancement for obstruction of justice.
In the course of their investigation, Greece Police executed several search warrants and searched the victim’s cell phone. Following their discovery of sexually explicit pictures of the victim, Greece Police contacted the FBI Child Exploitation Task Force for assistance. This team, made up of agents from the Federal Bureau of Investigations and Homeland Security Investigations, as well as officers from the Rochester Police Department and deputies from the Monroe County Sheriff’s Office, continued the investigation, conducted forensic searches of the digital equipment in the case, and ultimately arrested the defendant on federal charges.
“It’s a message that I share with parents and guardians every chance I get—please keep a very close eye on what your children do online and on their cell phones,” said U.S. Attorney Hochul. “The mother of the victim in this case did just that, and now the predator that victimized her child will be spending many years behind bars. Let this case serve as an example to other parents to be on alert and if you suspect a problem, please contact police.”
