Ammar Atef Alahdali, 22, pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady.
Sentencing is scheduled for Jan. 18.
According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Alahdali paid cryptocurrency to become a member of a website dedicated to the advertisement and distribution of child pornography.
This website operated over the dark web—i.e., it could only be accessed through special software that masks the user’s real internet protocol address.
In 2017, he used this website to download more than 20 videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including at least one video depicting sadistic sexual conduct.
This case was brought as 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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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.