ATLANTA — Justin Levi Marino has been convicted of possessing and distributing child pornography and violating the terms of his supervised release for a previous conviction in child exploitation.
“Child pornography is a particularly heinous crime involving those who exploit and abuse children and young children to produce these disturbing and horrifying images and those who create demand for this heinous material by possessing and distributing it said U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Buchanan. “The combined efforts of the FBI, the US Probation Office and the US Marshals Service made it possible to stop this predator from continuing to bully children and their families.”
“Every time Marino viewed or disseminated the unscrupulous images of innocent young children, they were victimized again,” said Keri Farley, the FBI’s Atlanta Special Agent in Charge. “The fact that he is a repeat sex offender only underscores why we strive every day to protect our children and will continue to use every available law enforcement resource to identify and prosecute anyone who harms them in this way.” exploit.”
“Due to the hard work of multiple components of the Department of Justice, Justin Levi Marino is no longer able to threaten society and will never again bully children with his deviant behavior. Child predators are a scourge to our community, and the US Marshals Services considers removing these offenders from our communities one of our top priorities,” said Thomas E. Brown, US Marshal for the Northern District of Georgia.
According to US Attorney Buchanan, the charges and additional information will be presented in court: In 2007, the US District Court for the Northern District of Georgia sentenced Justin Levi Marino to 12 years and six months for using a computer to murder a minor sexual activity to tempt activity.
A little over a year after serving that sentence, in June 2020, during the initial lockdown periods of the global COVID-19 pandemic, a concerned citizen contacted the Atlanta Police Department over suspicions that a 16-year-old child who had in was reported missing in another state, was living with Marino at his home in the Atlanta area. The U.S. Parole Office for the Northern District of Georgia was notified and immediately received an arrest warrant for Marino’s alleged violation of his condition of supervised release, which prohibits contact with a child under the age of 18. The US Probation Office and the US Marshals Service for the Northern District of Georgia identified the minor and arrested Marino at his home.
After Marino’s arrest, the FBI recovered hundreds of child pornography images and chats on various social media applications from his phone. Investigators also found that Marino was distributing child pornography images to other users.
Justin Levi Marino, 45, of Poland, Ohio, was sentenced to 22 years in prison followed by supervised life in prison. Marino pleaded guilty to charges of possession and distribution of child pornography on August 26, 2022.
This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the US Marshals Service.
Assistant US Attorney Secretary T. Sneed prosecuted the case.
This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ offices across the country, Project Safe Childhood employs federal, state and local resources to arrest and prosecute those who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
For more information, please contact the US Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov or (404) 581-6016. The web address of the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.
