New Rochelle Man Sentenced For Having Sex With Children, Filming Them

NEW ROCHELLE, NY — A New Rochelle man will be going to prison after pleading guilty to having sex with children and filming them.

Westchester County District Attorney Miriam Rocan announced Thursday that Jason Ricketts, 23, of New Rochelle, was sentenced to 21 years in state prison for sexual acts involving three children in Westchester County between 2019 and 2023, as well as creating and having images and videos of children engaged in sex acts.

Ricketts pleaded guilty Jan. 29 to two counts of first-degree course of sexual conduct against a child, one count of second-degree criminal sexual act and one count of promoting an obscene sexual performance by a child, all felonies.

Rocah thanked the survivors of the abuse for their courage in working with her office to help secure the conviction.

“After years of preying upon children and inflicting unspeakable trauma on his victims, this defendant has been brought to justice and removed from our community,” she said.

“We will continue to support the victims throughout their healing and offer further assistance in any way possible,” Rocah said.

Ricketts was also sentenced to 20 years of post-release supervision and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Prosecutors said Ricketts first met his victims in person at locations where children gather and befriended them by deceiving the children and their parents into believing that he was younger than he was.

He methodically gained the trust of his victims, even using substances with them before engaging in sexual acts with his victims, which he filmed.

When the victims tried to leave or stop engaging, the defendant indicated that he would post the videos and images to social media accounts.

The sexual abuse began in 2019, when the victims were 12 years old, and continued until 2023.

Addressing Ricketts, one of the victims said that he was a disgusting human being.

“You took away years of my life that I can’t get back. I wish every day that I never met you … I was 12 years old … I would walk around afraid all the time ... Every time I tried to make a new friend, you would blackmail me and try to scare me. … I am not afraid of you anymore. After today, I hope I never see you again,” the victim said.

The DA’s office Cyber Crimes Bureau and High Technology Crimes Unit began an investigation in October 2022 after Dropbox Inc., a file hosting service, filed a CyberTipline Report with the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children about an uploaded video file containing minors engaged in sex acts.

After receiving the center’s notification, the New York State Police developed a suspect in Westchester County, and the DA’s office obtained a search warrant in January 2023 for Rickett’s home in New Rochelle.

With the help of the New Rochelle Police Department, the DA’s investigators seized multiple devices from Rickett’s home. He admitted using Dropbox.

Forensic analysis of Ricketts’s phone revealed a photo vault disguised as a calculator app containing dozens of video and photos of him performing sexual acts on children, which led investigators to identify three child victims in Westchester County.

The Child Abuse Bureau and the Special Prosecutions Unit found the three minors and their families, who agreed to work with the DA’s Office.

Ricketts was arrested Feb. 2, 2023. An additional device revealed internet searches regarding how to remotely wipe devices, whether a person’s age can be determined through a video and attorneys who specialize in defending individuals charged with sex offenses.

Ricketts has remained in custody at the Westchester County Jail since his arrest.