A former Los Angeles resident was sentenced Monday to life in federal prison for producing child pornography in the Philippines while under a court order to register as a sex offender upon getting out of prison for raping a 12-year-old relative.

Stanley Dan Reczko III, who once lived in Koreatown, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge George H. King, who in March found the defendant guilty of producing child pornography while being under a requirement to register as a sex offender.

“This defendant has a life-long history of violent behavior,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Stephanie Yonekura. “He has received treatment and counseling, but in light of this case, the help offered to him appears to have had no effect. Even though he has previously served prison time for the rape of a minor, this punishment did not deter his behavior. In light of his recidivism, the life prison sentence is richly deserved.”

In the first half of a two-part trial, a federal jury in February found Reczko guilty of sexual exploitation by producing child pornography in the Philippines.

Reczko received the life sentence for the sexual exploitation charge, and he received a consecutive 10-year term for producing child pornography while being required to register as a sex offender, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.

Reczko has been in custody since 2007, when he was arrested by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations upon returning to the United States.

“This sentence should serve as a warning to sexual predators who mistakenly believe they can escape justice by exploiting children overseas,” said Mark Selby, deputy special agent in charge for HIS Los Angeles.

“There can be no place for the abuse of foreign children by our citizens, and HSI will seek to vindicate the rights of those victims no matter how far they live from our shores,” he said. “Fortunately, the sentence imposed today virtually assures that no additional children will be harmed by this defendant.”

Authorities began investigating Reczko in May 2007 after the minor victim handed over a CD containing child pornography to the International Justice Mission, a non-governmental organization working in the Philippines.

IJM provided the CD, along with other evidence, to law enforcement officers working out of the U.S. Embassy in Manila.

The evidence showed that Reczko had used the minor to produce eight series of child pornography, which included images of him and the victim engaging in sexual intercourse, according to federal prosecutors.

Reczko sexually, physically, emotionally, and mentally abused the victim for three years, prosecutors said.

In 1997, Reczko pleaded guilty in New York to the first-degree rape of a 12-year-old relative, for which he was sentenced to between four and eight years in prison, according to documents and statements in previous hearings.

— City News Service

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