Walnut Creek man pleads guilty to distributing child porn online

OAKLAND >> Nearly eight mont h s a f t er he wa s charged with sharing videos depicting child sexual abuse with two undercover cops on the Kik messenger application, a Walnut Creek man has accepted a plea deal on charges that carry a mandator y five- year federal prison term.

Jef f rey Phillips, 34 , pleaded guilty Tuesday morning to a single count of child porn distribution. Appearing in court dressed in a Santa Rita Jail red jumpsuit — indicating his status as a prisoner requiring special protection from others — Phillips answered a series of questions from U. S. District Judge Jon Tigar, who accepted his plea at the hearing’s end.

Tigar warned Phillips that the charge carries a minimum of five years in federal prison, but Phillips won’t be formally sentenced until later this year.

Phillips was charged last Februar y, af ter he joined a Kik messenger chat that authorities say was known for posting child pornography. Phillips did not waste any time indicating his intentions, according to the FBI.

“A n y o n e h a v e any young ones lol,” he allegedly wrote on the chat, prompting an undercover FBI agent to respond.

After Phillips sent the undercover agent a video depicting a child younger than 12 being sexually abused, the agent introduced Phillips to another undercover operative who was posing as a nanny. In a subsequent communication, Phillips sent that agent a video of a prepubescent girl being raped by a man, according to federal authorities.

In their conversations, Phillips shared child porn videos and described molesting a young girl whom he was babysitting, authorities said. Phillips repeated the story to both agents, the criminal complaint against him said.

“Went hot- tubbing … and we’re playing dare,” Phillips allegedly wrote, before proceeding to describe how he performed a sex act on the girl, the criminal complaint says.

The nail in Phillips’ coffin was when Phillips communicated with the second agent on the social media application Snapchat. In video chats with the undercover agent, the FBI was able to screenshot pictures of Phillips’ face, proving his identity.

A sentencing date has not yet been set.