Chester Co. Man Abused, Made Child Porn With 14-Year-Olds: Feds

WEST CHESTER, PA — A West Chester man has been sentenced to 25 years behind bars after sexually abusing and creating child porn with a 14-year-old girl, authorities said. He'd previously been convicted of similar charges in two separate cases and was on probation when he committed the crimes.

James Connor, 24, was also sentenced to a lifetime of probation upon release, and he must register as a sex offender under Megan's Law.

Connor "repeatedly targeted" the child, and also downloaded, separately, more than 21,000 images of child pornography, according to the US Attorney's Office.

In 2016, Connor was convicted in a separate case involving cyberstalking and extorting a college student in the Boston area. Connor met her through social media, and they developed relationship, with the victim ultimately sending him nude photos, authorities said.

Connor saved the photos, and, after the relationship ended, threatened to harm her physically, threatened suicide if she did not answer his calls, and repeatedly published the nude images of her on the Internet, according to authorities. He demanded she send him additional sexual photos and videos so that he wouldn't continue to publish the items he already had.

Then, in 2018, he was convicted of related child porn crimes against a separate 14-year-old, authorities said.

He pleaded guilty to the most recent charges in Aug. 2019. The case was prosecuted by assistant US Attorney Michelle Rotella and US District Court Judge Juan R. Sanchez passed down the sentence.