By Philip Newman
A 43-year-old Jamaica man could be sentenced to 1 1/2 to four years in prison after pleading guilty to distributing indecent materials to minors while falsely claiming to be a basketball coach and regularly conducting basketball workouts with teen-age boys, the Queens District Attorney said.
Robert Walker of 164th Street in Jamaica pleaded guilty Tuesday to disseminating indecent material to minors in a proceeding before Queens Supreme Court Justice Dorothy Chin-Brandt, according to Queens DA Richard Brown.
“The defendant has now admitted to taking advantage of his position as a non-affiliated basketball coach to instruct teenage boys to undress and send nude photos of themselves to him for his sexual gratification,” Brown said. “The victims will undoubtedly be scarred for life as a result of this man’s manipulative actions.”
The judge indicated she would sentence Walker to 1 1/2 to four years in prison on Sept. 10. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.
According to the criminal complaint, on April 22, 2014 Walker communicated with a 15-year-old boy on OoVoo, a video chat and instant messaging software site, asking him to strip naked and pose during a video link and to send him photos of himself naked. A forensic examination of the defendant’s electronic devices also revealed 27 images of children ranging from 8 to 13 performing sex acts with adult men, which resulted in further charges.
After Walker’s arrest, according to the charges, he made statements admitting that he conducted workouts with teens under aged 16 during which he would have them remove their clothes and he would take photos and videos of them.
Brown said three more victims were discovered following search warrants executed on the defendant’s OoVoo and Facebook accounts. The three children, 14 and 15 years old, played basketball on the team coached by the defendant The boys were also manipulated to strip naked and expose their genitals during video chats on OoVoo and on one occasion in person, the DA said.
