SAN DIEGO (CNS) - A San Diego man who convinced a 14-year-old girl to send him sexual photographs of herself was sentenced Friday to nearly 22 years in prison.
Eric Jin persuaded the teen to send him pictures of her private parts on two occasions, and on one of those instances, he instructed the girl to carve his name into her inner thigh. The girl carved Jin's first name into her leg as directed and sent him a photograph of the result, prosecutors say.
Jin, who pleaded guilty to a federal count of sexual exploitation of a minor, was aware on both occasions that the girl was 14 years old, according to his plea agreement. He also sent her pictures "of other minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct," the plea agreement states.
U.S. District Judge Jinsook Ohta, who imposed a sentence higher than the 15 years recommended by the prosecution and defense, said "the hurtful and evil nature of those actions on such young children is such that it really defies adequate description."
The victim, now 17 years old, did not appear at the sentencing hearing, but her mother told Jin in court, "You have irreparably harmed an innocent child's life for your selfish desires. Your actions have made her feel worthless in this world."
The woman said the girl's parents had noticed a dramatic shift in her previously "vibrant" daughter's behavior during that time, culminating in their discovery of the word "Eric" carved into the girl's leg and sexual photographs of the teen on her phone.
Jin apologized prior to being sentenced and said, "I'm absolutely disgusted at my actions and I wish that I never hurt people, but I can't undo the pain that I've caused."
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