Herndon Man Charged With Production Of Child Pornography: Prosecutors

HERNDON, VA — A Herndon man made his first court appearance in federal court on Monday on charges of production and attempted production of child sexual abuse material, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.

Vincent Joseph Sarikey, 34, faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison if convicted, prosecutors said.

Last May, Sarikey engaged in sexually explicit discussions with at least two persons who identified themselves as minors, each of whom he successfully persuaded to produce sexually explicit pictures of themselves and send to him, according to court documents.

Sarikey sent the images on several social media platforms including Twitter and Discord under a fake name, said Jessica Aber, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. Sarikey then provided the images of at least one minor to another person who shared his stated sexual interest in minors, she alleged.

These exchanges took place on several social media platforms, including Telegram, Twitter, and Discord under the monikers “John Lugne,” “@JLugne,” and “triadus#9325,” according to court documents.

Aber also alleged that Sarikey attempted to “groom and entice” the minors to record themselves engaging in sexually explicit activity, and that he sent some of the minors sexually explicit images of himself. Investigators found hundreds of images and videos of child sexual abuse material on Sarikey's electronic devices, according to prosecutors.

The Federal Bureau of Investigation is attempting to identify additional victims, prosecutors said.

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and police detectives from Northern Virginia and the District of Columbia.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Laura D. Withers is prosecuting the case against Sarikey.