Clinton Man Sentenced to 25 Years for Producing Child Pornography

 Identified, Arrested the Same Day He Shared Live Video, Photos with Undercover Officer

KANSAS CITY, Mo. – A Clinton, Missouri, man who was identified and arrested on the same day he shared live video and images of his sexual assault of a toddler with an undercover officer was sentenced in federal court today for producing child pornography.

Gino Alexander Maiorano, 26, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Greg Kays to 25 years in federal prison without parole. The court also ordered Maiorano to spend the rest of his life on supervised release following incarceration.

On June 23, 2020, Maiorano pleaded guilty to one count of producing child pornography. Maiorano admitted that he used a 2-year-old victim to produce child pornography on April 12, 2019.

An FBI task force officer in Washington, D.C., acting in an undercover capacity, communicated with Maiorano in an online Kik chat group in April 2019. Maiorano sent two sexually explicit photos and a video of the child victim to the undercover officer on April 12, 2019. The photos and video were shot live during the time Maiorano was chatting with the undercover officer. Investigators immediately began working to identify Maiorano and rescue the child victim.

Emergency disclosure requests were sent to Kik, which led to the identification of a family member of Maiorano. Investigators searching social media accounts found a photograph of a kitchen area that matched the kitchen area depicted in a photograph sent by Maiorano to the undercover agent. Another emergency query to Maiorano’s cell phone provider indicated he had been using his phone at the time he sent the video and images of child pornography to the undercover agent.

Officers arrested Maiorano at his residence on the same day. Officers seized his phone, which contained another video of child pornography involving a different child victim.

This case was prosecuted by Acting U.S. Attorney Teresa A. Moore and Assistant U.S. Attorney David A. Barnes. It was investigated by the FBI, the Springfield, Mo., Police Department, and the Clinton, Mo., Police Department.