Anthony Wayne Santiago, 28, of Novi, Mich.; Jacob Dominic VanDyke, 25, of Muskegon, Mich.; Johnathan Scott Fleak, 32, of Pryor, Okla.; Aaron Ray Iuliano, 27, of Ravenna, Ohio; and Michael Paul Gianfrancesco, 39, of Livingston, Tenn., all have pled guilty and been sentenced to conspiracy to distribute child sexual abuse material and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of children under the age of 13 years.

From September to October 2021, the five defendants entered and participated in a private chat room within a social networking application. Each had to distribute CSAM of children under the age of 13 to enter the chat room. These defendants all distributed and solicited CSAM and discussed the sexual abuse of children among more than 50 other individuals. The children in the images and videos were as young as 4 years old.

Today, Judge Donald M. Middlebrooks sentenced the last of three defendants charged in the conspiracy. Michael Paul Gianfrancesco, who had previously distributed CSAM through multiple other social networking accounts, was sentenced to 17.5 years in prison. Aaron Ray Iuliano was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Jacob Dominic Vandyke to 13.3 years in prison. Previously, Judge Middlebrooks sentenced Johnathan Scott Fleak, who distributed CSAM through another online message boards, to 15 years in prison. Anthony Wayne Santiago, a registered sex offender who was on a GPS monitor at the time of his arrest, had been sentenced to 30 years in prison.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, acting Special Agent in Charge Michael E. Buckley of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami, and Sheriff Ric Bradshaw of the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office made the announcement.

HSI West Palm Beach Office and the Palm Beach County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case as part of a joint effort of the South Florida Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Gregory Schiller and Brian Ralston prosecuted it.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov under case number 22-cr-80127.

Original source can be found here.