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Jacksonville man sentenced for using 'mommy blogs' to target women, children

Officials say he made numerous posts to mom blog websites requesting that moms post images and videos of their children.

JACKSONVILLE, Fla. — A Jacksonville man has been sentenced to over a half-century in prison for using 'mommy blogs' to post sexually explicit comments that targeted mothers and their young children.

Back in March, a federal jury found Colum Patrick Moran, Jr. 42, guilty of attempting to entice minors to produce images and videos depicting child sexual abuse and also of possessing materials depicting the sexual exploitation of children. 

He will now spend 64 years in federal prison and is ordered to serve a lifetime term of supervised release and to register as a sex offender.

According to evidence presented during the trial, Moran made numerous posts to several internet motherhood blog websites requesting that several mothers produce and post images and videos of their children engaging in sexually explicit acts.

On March 6, 2019, FBI agents and other officers executed a search warrant at Moran’s apartment and reportedly seized several smartphones and computers that contained more than 1,000 images and videos depicting young children, including infants and toddlers, being sexually abused. 

RELATED: 'Sharenting': Why you should think twice before posting about your children

One of the smartphones had been reportedly used by Moran to access the blog websites.

Agents say they discovered a plastic storage bin in a bedroom closet that contained two dozen pairs of underage girls’ underwear. They also reportedly found several firearms, ammunition, and a bulletproof vest with Velcro law enforcement identification patches.    

"This case demonstrates the lengths that predators will go to target innocent children online, and reveals the havoc placed on their families,” said Rachel L. Rojas, Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Jacksonville Division. “While the FBI, in general, does not comment on specific websites or apps, we want parents to be aware of the risks and vulnerabilities posed by websites and apps that offer interactive communication capabilities to include video live-streaming and image sharing functionalities..."

For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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