Abhijeet Das, 28, of Point Breeze, Pennsylvania, a doctoral student in chemistry at the University of Pittsburgh was sentenced to 52 months in in federal prison for collecting sadistic child porn videos and images, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reported.
U.S. District Judge Mark Hornak ordered that he be deported to India after his prison term. He has to pay $1,000 each in restitution to two identified victims in the porn images.
Das will also be on probation for 10 years after prison.
Das was initially charged by Pittsburgh police with downloading photos of nude girls, but federal authorities later took the case after a search uncovered a huge cache of child porn downloaded from the internet.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Lee Karl said many of the images and videos depicted the violent rape of toddlers.
Das came to the U.S. last year on a student visa and said his prosecution here has devastated his family back in India. He said his hope was to relieve the burden on his parents in caring for his sister, who was born with deformed hands and arms, by taking advantage of his passion for science and becoming a success.
‘I feel completely shattered that I destroyed their hopes and aspirations," he said. "They don't deserve a son like me. But they're stuck with me.’
He had pleaded guilty to collecting the porn and said he initially did not realize the serious nature of the crime. He said he now understands that downloading images drives the international market for child porn, leading to further victimization of children.
His lawyer, Samir Sarna, said Das has no intention of ever returning to the US, according to the report
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Pittsburgh Man Pleads Guilty to Possession of Child Pornography
PITTSBURGH - A resident of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania pleaded guilty in federal court to a charge of possession of material depicting the exploitation of a minor, United States Attorney Scott W. Brady announced today.
Abhijeet Das, 27, of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on March 6 to one count before United States District Judge Mark R. Hornak.
In connection with the guilty plea, the court was advised that on November 8, 2017, Das unlawfully possessed computer graphic files containing approximately 1,000 photographs and 380 videos depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Judge Hornak scheduled sentencing for July 19, 2018 at 9:30 am. The law provides for a total sentence of 20 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, or both. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed is based upon the seriousness of the offense and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.
Pending sentencing, the court released Das on a $25,000 bond.
Assistant United States Attorney Lee J. Karl is prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.
The Western Pennsylvania Crimes Against Children Task Force conducted the investigation that led to the prosecution of Das.
