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Westchester County resident Leland Robinson, of Mount Vernon, was sentenced to 50 years in prison for enticing a 14-year-old boy to engage in sexual activity with him, the US Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York announced on Friday, March 8.
According to federal officials, in February 2019, when Robinson was 31 years old, he posed as a high school student on a social media application and met the 14-year-old victim.
He then began sending sexually explicit images and videos of himself to the boy and asked for similar material from the victim.
Eventually, in the fall of 2019, Robinson convinced the victim to engage in sexual activity with him in exchange for a Juul electronic cigarette. He then traveled to Fairfield County to the boy's home in New Canaan on several occasions in September and October 2019, officials said.
During one of these trips, on October 24, 2019, Robinson went to the boy's house and sexually assaulted him in the yard outside the residence, according to federal officials.
In addition to his prison sentence, Robinson will also be required to serve 15 years of supervised release.
US Attorney Damian Williams condemned Robinson's actions and urged parents to take action to protect their children from online predators.
"Leland Robinson’s crime is the nightmare of every parent of a child who uses a smartphone," Williams said, adding, "Robinson met his victim on a social media application and then traveled to Connecticut, where he sexually assaulted the child outside the child’s home. I encourage parents and caregivers to have conversations with their children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers."
US District Judge Kenneth Karas also commented on Robinson's crimes as he imposed his half-century sentence: "People should understand that when they prey on kids, they will pay the price."
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