Long Island Child Therapist Sentenced to 84 Months for Distributing Child Pornography

Earlier today, in federal court in Central Islip, Renee Hoberman, also known as "Rina," a licensed social worker, was sentenced by United States District Judge Joanna Seybert to 84 months' imprisonment for receipt and distribution of child pornography.

Joseph Nocella, Jr., United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, Michael Alfonso, Acting Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI New York), and Patrick Ryder, Commissioner, Nassau County Police Department, announced the sentence.

"Today, Renee Hoberman was sentenced for distributing sordid images and videos depicting the horrific sexual abuse of the most innocent and vulnerable members of our society: infants and children," stated United States Attorney Nocella. "The defendant's access to children has come to an end. Our Office will relentlessly pursue child predators and hold them accountable to the fullest extent of the law."

"The absolute depravity of Renee Hoberman's crimes, committed while she was entrusted as a mental health counselor for children, represents a staggering betrayal of the public trust and a horrific violation of innocent lives," stated HIS New York Acting Special Agent in Charge Alfonso. "I hope the defendant's sentencing delivers a measure of justice to the Long Island community and offers hope for healing to her traumatized victims, who deserve to know that their suffering has not gone unanswered. HSI New York and our partners relentlessly investigated this case, and we remain unyielding in our commitment to protect vulnerable communities from predators in every form."

As set forth in court filings and on the record at the plea and sentencing proceedings in this case, Hoberman used encrypted social media messaging applications to upload, receive, and trade digital videos and images depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, including several videos depicting infants six months to one year of age, frantically screaming while being physically restrained and raped by adult males. The defendant also engaged in multiple online "chats" concerning child sexual molestation. In these chats, the defendant, posing as the father of several minor children, claimed to have sex with the children and punish them by getting naked, stripping the children naked, and spanking them while the other children watched. The defendant invited another user to visit "his" family in New York to spank and sexually abuse the children. In addition, the defendant described sexually abusing "his" children and their friends, and then uploaded and sent two videos containing child sexual abuse material, claiming that these videos depicted the defendant's own children.

During the same time period that Hoberman was distributing child sexual abuse material online, she was also working as a mental health counselor for children and adolescents. The defendant was arrested on October 23, 2024, and pleaded guilty on June 18, 2025. She has been incarcerated since her arrest.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, 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, 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 https://www.justice.gov/psc.

The government's case is being handled by the Office's Long Island Criminal Section. Assistant United States Attorney Kaitlin McTague is in charge of the prosecution, with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Janelle Robinson.

The Defendant:

RENEE HOBERMAN, also known as "Rina"
Age: 38
Plainview, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 24-CR-463 (JS)