A Los Angeles County man is likely to be sentenced to federal prison Thursday for possession of child pornography including images depicting children under the age of two.
Richard Celestino, 48, of Green Valley — on the eastern edge of the Antelope Valley — pleaded guilty in July in Los Angeles federal court to possession of child pornography, admitting that he used a peer-to-peer file-sharing network to distribute and possess more than 8,000 illicit images and videos.
Prosecutors are recommending that U.S. District Judge Percy Anderson sentence Celestino to six years behind bars, followed by federal supervision for the rest of his life. The government also requests that the defendant be ordered to pay a $5,000 special assessment pursuant to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, plus restitution in an amount to be determined at a later hearing.
Celestino’s defense attorney is expected to argue for a three-year federal prison term, followed by lifetime supervision.
“The children depicted in these images and videos are real children,” prosecutors wrote in court papers, although it is not alleged that the defendant had any personal contact with any of them.