Jonesboro Man Who Instructed Young Girls to Self-Harm, Drink Toilet Water, and Film Child Pornography Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison

LITTLE ROCK-Justin Lee Palmer, who "coached" young girls who were anorexic and encouraged them to self-harm and film child pornography, will spend 30 years in federal prison for production of child pornography. Jonathan D. Ross, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, announced the sentence, which was handed down on Thursday by Chief United States District Judge Kristine G. Baker0.

"A vile, disgusting, reprobate has finally received his due, the maximum sentence under the law," said Ross. "We are thankful for the tireless work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the bravery of the victims and their families to bring a stop to his crimes. Parents everywhere should heed this case as reason to monitor and engage with your children's use of social media."

An investigation revealed that in March 2020, FBI agents in New Jersey identified a user on KIK messenger who had sexually abused a 9-year-old girl and distributed videos of the abuse to other KIK users. One of the users who received the child pornography was identified by the username "skipdinnergetmethin." Agents were able to connect the IP addresses associated with that username to Palmer, of Jonesboro, Arkansas. A search of one of Palmer's cell phones revealed numerous images and videos that contained child pornography.

The investigation further revealed that Palmer, 44, would pose as a 15-year-old girl, befriend teen and preteen girls, and "coach" them on how to be anorexic. He would instruct the victims to film themselves pulling on their fat areas while nude to make them feel disgusted and motivated to lose weight. Agents discovered that Palmer also directed victims to film themselves performing other humiliating and harmful acts, such as cutting demeaning words into their skin, drinking toilet water and their own urine, and engaging in sexually explicit activities.

In April 2020, Palmer asked a young female on KIK messenger, "what are your stats?" to which the female responded, "cw [current weight] 93 pounds. Five feet one inch. Female. 13 years old. Goal weight 75." Palmer instructed the minor female to "suck in your belly so I can see your ribs." This minor victim appears in 89 photographs and videos sent to Palmer, 71 of which depict her engaging in sexual, humiliating, or self-harming acts.

"Mr. Palmer's actions were revolting and deplorable," said FBI Little Rock Special Agent in Charge Alicia D. Corder. "Today's sentence showcases FBI Little Rock's commitment to utilizing all available resources to protect innocent children from predators who seem to harm them."

On October 8, 2020, Palmer was indicted by a federal grand jury for two counts of production of child pornography and one count of attempted production of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to production of child pornography on August 4, 2023. Chief Judge Baker also sentenced Palmer to a lifetime of supervised release. There is no parole in the federal system.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Lauren Eldridge prosecuted the case.

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This news release, as well as additional information about the office of the

United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Arkansas, is available online at

https://www.justice.gov/edar

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