Man Sentenced to 25 Years in Prison for Paying Philippine Sex Trafficker to Live-Stream Child Sex Abuse

A Maine man was sentenced today to 25 years in prison for the production and distribution of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) depicting a minor in the Philippines.

According to court documents, Joseph Daniel Zoll, 63, of Sanford, shared CSAM with a child sex trafficker in the Philippines and paid the trafficker to sexually abuse a prepubescent minor over a live-streaming videochat platform. For around two years, Zoll communicated with the trafficker and repeatedly instructed the trafficker to sexually abuse the minor over live-streaming video calls. Zoll engaged in similar conduct with multiple individuals in the Philippines over the same platform. In addition, Zoll frequently recorded the live-streaming video calls, which he would then show to other individuals when instructing them to sexually abuse children during their own calls.

Acting Assistant Attorney General Nicole M. Argentieri of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Darcie N. McElwee for the District of Maine, and Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England made the announcement.

HSI New England investigated the case.

Trial Attorney William G. Clayman of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorney Craig M. Wolff for the District of Maine prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Justice Department. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 www.justice.gov/psc.