John Albertson sentenced to prison for child sex crimes

WASHINGTON — A man was sentenced to more than a decade in prison after trying to arrange a meeting with another person online with the intention of sexually abusing that person's 8-year-old daughter. However, he did not know that he was actually speaking to an undercover agent working with the police in Washington DC.

John Albertson, 33, was sentenced Friday to 13 years in prison for sending videos of adults abusing young girls to an undercover FBI agent, according to the U.S. Attorney for the District of Columbia. He sent these videos while he was part of a cryptic social media messaging group to find a way to create his own videos so he could “have fun and make money xxx”.

Court documents say investigators became aware of Albertson on August 9, 2023, when he joined the chat where members were sharing images of sexual abuse. He shared images in the group, sending them to an undercover FBI agent working with the Metropolitan Police and the FBI's Child Exploitation Task Force.

A day later, Albertson sent a direct message to the undercover agent, which included an invitation to another group focused on child pornography. The two continued to talk and Albertson attempted to meet with the agent and their alleged 8-year-old daughter so he could record his abuse and later sell the footage.

Albertson was arrested two weeks later in the Cincinnati suburb of Hebron, Kentucky. He was taken to the Washington, D.C. area, where a grand jury indicted him.

This was not Albertson's first run-in with the law. Prosecutors argued at his sentencing that he had engaged in “more violent, more disturbing and more dangerous conduct” over the past decade. They highlighted a “violent interaction” with police in 2017 and an incident in 2021 in which he performed a sexual act in front of a child.

Albertson ultimately pleaded guilty in November 2023 to one count of distributing child pornography. In addition to his prison sentence, a judge ordered him to serve 15 years of supervised release and pay $18,000 in restitution to the victims depicted in the child pornography.

Do you have a tip about this or any other story? We want to hear from you. Tell us about it by emailing [email protected].

MORE WAYS TO GET WUSA9

DOWNLOAD THE WUSA9 APP
Apple App Store: WUSA9 News on Apple
Google Play Store: WUSA9 news on Android

HOW TO ADD THE FREE WUSA9+ APP TO YOUR STREAMING DEVICE

ROKU: Add the channel from the ROKU store or by searching for WUSA9.

For Apple TV and Fire TV, search for “WUSA9” to find the free app to add to your account. Another option for Fire TV is to send the app directly to your Fire TV through Amazon.

SUBSCRIBE TO RECEIVE THE WUSA9 NEWSLETTER

Subscribe to our daily WUSA9 newsletter for the best stories from WUSA9 curated daily just for you. Get content and information now on can't-miss stories, commander content, weather and more, straight to your inbox.