In the basement of the home where Salamon lived with his parents, investigators found files were organized under labels including "pics," "vids," "babies" and "bondage."
The federal courthouse in Springfield.SPRINGFIELD – The banner on his website beckoned: “Welcome & Enjoy!”
Users allowed access to the site, run by home repair business owner Jeremiah “Jay” Salamon, were able to view tens of thousands of meticulously organized files featuring children from infancy to just a few years old subjected to rape and sexual abuse, according to court records.
The vast library of images, which a prosecutor called “staggering ... and unprecedented” in federal child porn prosecutions statewide, won the West Springfield man nearly 20 years in federal prison at his sentencing on Tuesday.
U.S. District Judge Michael A. Ponsor also ordered that the defendant pay $300,000 in restitution to two young women, children when they were abused on film and now circulating the global Internet as the “Vicky files” and the “Misty files,” with Vicky and Misty being aliases.
The move was somewhat controversial in that restitution for child pornography victims in the wake of the web boom has been debated in courts across the country. Salamon’s restitution - which Ponsor conceded was largely symbolic since the defendant has no assets - will be added to the millions the two women have been awarded since they began litigating their cases.
The victim in the Misty series, known only under the pseudonym “Amy,” has made more than 350 requests for restitution at child pornography sentencings where the images depicting her as an 8-year-old are included in the defendants’ collections.
Lawyers for the victims and the government asked Ponsor to award $4 million in restitution; the judge noted awards across the country have ranged from 0 to $3 million “with several stops in between.”
He said they are difficult to calculate because the law requires judges draw a causal link between individual perpetrators and the victims, and essentially put a price tag on each instance of file-sharing and the harm it caused.
“In some ways, it’s an important gesture of respect to the victims to consider the issue of restitution,” Ponsor said.
Salamon, 34, owner of “Honey Do Projects,” was arrested by police at a job site in Springfield in 2009 after an FBI agent posing as an Internet troller tapped into his collection.
In the basement of the home where Salamon lived with his parents, investigators mined his laptop during a search and found his files were carefully organized under labels including “pics,” “vids,” “babies” and “bondage.”
Under a plea agreement with prosecutors, Salamon avoided being exposed to a sentence of 30 years to life in prison because of the sheer number - 240,000 files - agents discovered on his laptop and external hard drive. Salamon was sentenced Wednesday to 19 years and 11 months in prison after pleading guilty in December to possessing, advertising and distributing child pornography.
“The unfortunate nature of this crime is truly viral,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven H. Breslow told Ponsor.
Defense lawyer Thomas J. Rooke told the judge his client had a “dark side” and became unraveled when his marriage fell apart. He said Salamon is eager to be rehabilitated.
After a brief apology to his parents and the judge for taking up the court’s time, Salamon resumed his seat without any mention of the victims featured in the computer files he shared with untold Internet users.