Forbes StaffA New York man has pleaded guilty in a federal court in a child pornography case on OnlyFans.
A New York man has pleaded guilty in a federal court in a case of child pornography on OnlyFans. This man had posted a sex video of a 16-year-old girl on the adults-only website OnlyFans. He has now pleaded guilty in the case in a federal court to one count of distributing child pornography.
Child sexual abuse material was featured on OnlyFans.
Matthew Richardson, 36, faces 5 to 20 years in prison and a fine of $250,000 when he was sentenced on December 19. The plea agreement was reached in August. His attorney and the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York prosecuted the case and declined to comment until after sentencing. Richardson’s case was cited in a Reuters investigation in July about complaints to police that child sexual abuse material was featured on OnlyFans. Richardson was arrested at a highway rest stop in Ohio in December 2022 after he had escaped with the New York teen. The two had met at a grocery store and began a sexual relationship, and soon after, he recorded himself having sex with the girl. In November 2022, he posted their video on his OnlyFans account under the pseudonym Skylar Ravenwood, according to plea documents filed in the case.
Multiple complaints in the US police and court records about child sexual abuse material on OnlyFans.
The Reuters investigation identified 30 complaints in the US police and court records that child sexual abuse material appeared on OnlyFans between December 2019 and June 2024. The investigation cited over 200 explicit videos and images of kids on the website.
The video posted by Richardson has now been removed, and the account was shut down after Reuters asked OnlyFans about the case. OnlyFans has maintained that no children are allowed on its website and that it vets all content and swiftly removes and reports any child sexual abuse material.
