Jonesboro man gets 30 years in federal prison for child pornography, encouraging girls to harm themselves | KTVE

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – A Jonesboro man has been sentenced to 30 years in federal prison for producing child pornography and abusing young girls.

According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Arkansas, 44-year-old Justin Lee Palmer came to the attention of law enforcement following an FBI investigation that began in New Jersey in 2020.

In that initial investigation, investigators said they found a user of the KIK online messaging platform who had sexually abused a 9-year-old girl and sent videos of the abuse to other KIK users. One of the users it was shared with used the online identifier “skipdinnergetmethin,” which investigators traced to Palmer.

According to authorities, further investigation revealed that Palmer posed as a 15-year-old girl on the KIK platform and that she befriended teenage and pre-teen girls and coached them on how to deal with anorexia.

Investigators said that as part of the coaching, Palmer had girls send him nude photos of themselves naked, pulling at body fat, to make them feel disgusted about their weight. He also encouraged them to film themselves drinking toilet water, drinking urine and performing sexually explicit acts.

In one example, researchers cited Palmer messaging a 13-year-old girl on KIK and persuading her to send him 89 photos and videos of her, 71 of which depicted the girl performing sexual, degrading, or self-harmful acts. The girl told Palmer she was 5 feet, 1 inch tall and weighed 93 pounds with a goal weight of 75 pounds.

U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District Jonathan D. Ross had harsh words for Palmer.

“A despicable, disgusting, depraved individual has finally been given the punishment he deserves, the maximum punishment the law requires,” Ross said. “We are grateful for the tireless work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the courage of the victims and their families in bringing an end to his crimes.

Ross added that parents can use this case as a lesson in monitoring and involving their children in their social media use.

Palmer was charged in October 2020 and pleaded guilty to production of child pornography in August 2023. His sentence includes lifelong parole after he serves his prison sentence.

There is no possibility of parole in the federal prison system.