CENTRAL ISLIP, N.Y. — Following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Newark, a New York man was indicted on several counts related to online child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Jacob Israel Walden was arraigned Jan. 22 at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York in Central Islip on a six-count indictment charging him with sexual exploitation of children, receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography and access with intent to view child pornography.
“We are determined to dismantle the insidious network of online child sexual exploitation and abuse — no child’s innocence should be for sale,” stated HSI Newark acting Special Agent in Charge Karabinas. “Every day HSI Newark and our partners work tirelessly to protect children from exploitation by predators who produce, distribute and possess child sexual abuse material. The public can help us in that fight by notifying HSI immediately if they suspect someone is exploiting or abusing a child by calling our HSI tip line, 1-877-4-HSI-TIP.”
According to the investigation, law enforcement first identified Walden, a healthcare executive and Long Island resident, as a repeat purchaser of child sexual abuse material from a large-scale production and distribution ring that advertised, sold and distributed the material to adult male buyers. A subsequent investigation determined that Walden also used social media and encrypted messaging services to engage in sexually explicit conversations with minors.
“As alleged, the defendant enticed minors to produce sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves and send them to him via the internet in exchange for payment,” stated United States Attorney Durham. “Protecting children from predators who sexually exploit them will always be a priority of my Office.”
In his chat conversations with these victims, Walden insisted that he be addressed as “daddy,” provided directions for what content the minors were to produce (e.g., “take off your top”) and paid the minors via electronic payment after he received the requested content. Walden was also a prolific purchaser of child sexual abuse material from online producers and distributors of child pornography. Numerous images and videos of child sexual abuse material were recovered from the defendant’s iPhone.
The charges in the indictment are allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.
If convicted, Walden faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison and up to 30 years in prison.
Follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, at @HSINewark to learn more about HSI’s global missions and operations.
Know2Protect (K2P) is a national public awareness campaign from the Department of Homeland Security. K2P’s aim is to educate and empower children, teens, parents, trusted adults, and policymakers to prevent, combat, and report online child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information, please visit our YouTube playlists at Know2Protect Campaign PSA Playlist and Know2Protect Digital Safety Series Playlist on the DHS main channel. Additional resources are available at know2protect.gov, Instagram, Facebook and X.