Thursday, March 7, 2024 | 4:52 p.m.
A Sparks man who the Department of Justice called “the most prolific creator” of online child sexual abuse material was convicted by a federal jury Thursday of several felonies, according to the Department of Justice.
James Patrick Burns, 55, was convicted of eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, eight counts of coercion and enticement of a minor and one count each of advertising, receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography. Burns’ sentence hearing is set for June 10, and he faces a minimum sentence of 25 years.
Burns exploited and coerced over 100 children of the course of several years using several online communications platforms like Snapchat, Omegle and TikTok, according to the DOJ. Burns would then post the extorted content to dark web forums, and provided more illegal content than any other individuals on the sites.
Burns was arrested by law enforcement after the mother of one of victims saw threats against her child on their phone and reported it to police, according to the DOJ.
Many of Burns’ victims have not yet been identified, according to the FBI Las Vegas Field Office. The FBI is requesting that any individual or parent of a child who may have had contact with Burns between 2018 to 2021 contact the FBI.
