Long Island Man Sentenced to More Than 17 Years in Prison for Distributing Child Pornography in Cyber-Bullying Case

Earlier today, at the federal courthouse in Central Islip, Lorenzo Arana was sentenced by United States District Judge Gary R. Brown to 210 months in prison for distribution of child pornography in connection with his circulation on social media of sexually explicit videos of a 12-year-old girl.  Arana pleaded guilty to the charge in November 2022.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Ivan J. Arvelo, Special Agent-in-Charge, Homeland Security Investigations, New York (HSI), announced the sentencing.

“Today’s sentence brings justice to a vulnerable young girl and many others like her throughout the country who were terrorized and harmed by the defendant’s weaponization of social media to target them for undeserved cruelty, vulgarity, and abuse,” stated United States Attorney Peace.  “It will always be a priority of this Office to protect children and hold online predators accountable for their actions.  My message to parents and caregivers is please talk to your children about the dangers of communicating online with strangers who may exploit them and to seek help from a trusted adult if they are being threatened.”

“It is particularly evil for a person to prey upon young people and exploit their innocence, but to do so to the point where a victim sees no reason to live is beyond reprehensible,” stated HSI New York Special Agent-in-Charge Arvelo.  “The defendant, Lorenzo Arana, got what he deserved today for his actions. There is no place in our society for such heinous behavior, and HSI New York is committed to protecting our children in every way possible.”

Arana, who also used the online alias “Lorenzo Blake,” has a lengthy and well-documented history of using social media—where he amassed thousands of followers, many of whom were minors—to target underage girls for harassment and abuse.  Arana leveraged his large following across social media platforms, including Facebook, Instagram, Tik Tok, Snapchat and YouTube, to bully, harass and exploit underage girls, including through blackmail with sexually explicit material he solicited from them, threatening to publicly distribute the material—along with other sensitive information, such as the victims’ cellphone numbers—for a range of conduct Arana deemed unacceptable, from refusing to send additional pornographic materials to simply declining his phone calls. 

Arana’s conviction in this case related specifically to his online harassment and abuse in September 2020 of a 12-year-old described in the indictment as Jane Doe #2.  After soliciting sexually explicit material from “Jane Doe #2,” Arana intentionally distributed those videos to her friends and classmates on social media (including other minors), causing Jane Doe #2 to attempt suicide. Arana posted about his conduct on social media, acknowledging that he distributed the compromising material to “expose” Jane Doe #2 for refusing to respond to his calls.  Law enforcement recovered a text message on Jane Doe #2’s cellphone, in which Arana stated “kill ur . . . self.”  Upon learning that Jane Doe #2 was contemplating suicide, Arana responded, “I don’t care . . . she deserves it.”  Local police in another state received an emergency call, requesting a welfare check of Jane Doe #2. Responding officers found Jane Doe #1 unconscious in her bed, along with loose pills, two pill bottles, a firearm, and a suicide note. The victim survived.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative led by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Long Island Criminal Division.  Assistant United States Attorney Anthony Bagnuola is in charge of the prosecution.

The Defendant:

LORENZO ARANA (also known as “Lorenzo Blake”)
Age:   22
Island Park, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No. 21-CR-19 (GRB)