A Preston resident has pleaded guilty to a federal child exploitation charge, according to an announcement from David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut. Joel Huntsman, 37, also known as “Jay Huntsman,” “Joel Feser,” and “Jay Blackburn,” entered his plea before U.S. District Judge Victor A. Bolden in New Haven.
Court records show that in June 2022, the Kik mobile messenger application submitted a CyberTip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), reporting that a user later identified as Huntsman had shared child sexual abuse images and videos with another Kik user. The Federal Bureau of Investigation executed a court-authorized search of Huntsman’s residence on November 2, 2022, seizing multiple items including two mobile phones. Analysis of these devices revealed additional illegal material.
Huntsman was arrested on January 26, 2023, and has been detained since then.
He pleaded guilty to distribution of child pornography. This offense carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years and could result in up to twenty years behind bars. Sentencing has not yet been scheduled.
The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Connecticut State Police. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Daniel E. Cummings and Nancy V. Gifford are prosecuting the case.
“This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.”
“To report cases of child exploitation, please visit https://report.cybertip.org/.”
