A "vile" Arkansas man who "coached" young girls who were anorexic by directing them to harm themselves, drink toilet water and film child porn was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison, announced the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas.
Justin Lee Palmer, 44, was sentenced on Thursday by Chief United States District Judge Kristine G. Baker for production of child pornography.
"A vile, disgusting, reprobate has finally received his due, the maximum sentence under the law," U.S. Attorney Jonathan Ross said in a release.
"We are thankful for the tireless work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the bravery of the victims and their families to bring a stop to his crimes. Parents everywhere should heed this case as reason to monitor and engage with your children's use of social media," he said.
An investigation in 2020 revealed that FBI agents in New Jersey identified a man on the KIK messaging app had sexually abused a 9-year-old girl and distributed videos of the molestation to other users on the platform.
One of those who received the child pornography was identified by the name "skipdinnergetmethin," and agents connected the IP address to Palmer, who lived in Jonesboro, Ark.
A subsequent search of Palmer's cell phones turned up "numerous images and videos that contained child pornography."
Palmer would pose as a 15-year-old girl and befriend young girls and "coach" them how to be anorexic.
"He would instruct the victims to film themselves pulling on their fat areas while nude to make them feel disgusted and motivated to lose weight," the statement said.
"Agents discovered that Palmer also directed victims to film themselves performing other humiliating and harmful acts, such as cutting demeaning words into their skin, drinking toilet water and their own urine, and engaging in sexually explicit activities," it said.
One victim of Palmer's, a 13-year-old girl, appeared in 89 photos and videos sent to Palmer, with 71 of them showing her "engaging in sexual, humilitaring, or self-harming acts," the statement said.
"Mr. Palmer's actions were revolting and deplorable," FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge Alicia D. Corder said in the release. "Today's sentence showcases FBI Little Rock's commitment to utilizing all available resources to protect innocent children from predators who seem to harm them."
Palmer pleaded guilty to production of child pornography on Aug. 4, 2023.
He was also sentenced to a lifetime of supervised release.
