Essex County Man Pleads Guilty to Producing Child Pornography

NEWARK, N.J. - An Essex County man pled guilty today to a three-count Information for his online enticement and exploitation of minors, Senior Counsel Philip Lamparello announced.

Abdur-Razzaaq Henderson, 29, of East Orange, New Jersey, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Court Judge Katharine S. Hayden, in Newark federal court, to an Information charging him with two counts of producing child pornography and one count of possessing prepubescent child pornography.

According to documents filed in this case and statements made in court:

In April 2023 and July 2023, respectively, Henderson texted with two different minor victims located outside of New Jersey. On both occasions, at Henderson's request, the minor victims created and texted him videos of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct. Additionally, Henderson engaged the second minor victim in a conversation about sexually assaulting a younger sibling.

On March 5, 2024, law enforcement found Henderson with a cell phone that contained multiple videos depicting child pornography in the "Hidden" folder among his photos.

In his plea agreement, Henderson also accepted responsibility for enticing seven additional minor victims to produce sexually explicit material.

The production of child pornography charges are each punishable by a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum potential penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The prepubescent child pornography possession charge is punishable by up to 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

Senior Counsel Lamparello credited special agents of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent in Charge Stefanie Roddy, with the investigation.

The government is represented by Assistant U.S. Attorney Eli Jacobs of the Criminal Division in Newark.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys' Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.

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Defense counsel: John Yauch, Esq.