Dewitt John

Dewitt John, a 31-year-old Brooklyn, New York man, was convicted by a federal jury on May 7, 2026 on both counts of a superseding indictment charging sexual exploitation of a child and accessing with intent to view child pornography. According to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of New York, the verdict followed a three-day trial before United States Circuit Judge Denny Chin, who was sitting in the Eastern District by designation. Prosecutors said the evidence at trial showed that in or about March 2024 John identified a minor who had posted photographs of herself on a Reddit forum and whose posts disclosed her age. John offered to pay her for photographs and then initiated contact on Instagram, according to the release. The Office said he groomed the minor by sending her money through Cash App in exchange for sexually explicit videos of herself, and that he continued to pressure and coerce her even though she expressed discomfort and reluctance. Prosecutors also said John sent explicit messages describing sexual acts he wanted her to perform, and that trial evidence showed he targeted a second minor through similar online methods. The release does not name the Reddit forum and does not say that Reddit reported the conduct, so the platform's role as documented is as the place where the first minor was identified. The case was announced by U.S. Attorney Joseph Nocella, Jr. and by James C. Barnacle, Jr., Assistant Director in Charge of the FBI's New York Field Office. When sentenced, John faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years' imprisonment and up to life imprisonment; no sentencing date or sentence appears in the release. The case is listed as E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-492 and was brought under Project Safe Childhood. BK Reader, a Brooklyn outlet, reported the verdict the following day and repeated the prosecution's account of the Reddit forum contact. A conviction is not a sentence, and a post-trial motion or appeal may follow.