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Man indicted for producing child pornography, kidnapping of Virginia child

Posted at 5:29 PM, Feb 06, 2019
and last updated 2019-02-06 17:30:22-05

RICHMOND, Va. – A federal grand jury returned an indictment Wednesday charging a New Zealand man with four counts of production of child pornography and one count of kidnapping and attempted kidnapping.

The allegations in the indictment say that 25-year-old Troy George Skinner knowingly used a minor child living in Goochland, Virginia, to produce two videos of child pornography and two image files of child pornography.

The indictment alleges that these acts occurred on four separate dates in February and March 2018.

From June 20 to June 22, 2018, the indictment further states that Skinner traveled from New Zealand to Virginia. Upon his arrival, he unlawfully and willfully seized and confined the minor victim, and attempted to seize, confine, and kidnap the minor victim for ransom or another reason, and that he also used the Internet in this offense.

If convicted of producing child pornography, Skinner faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of life in prison on each count. If convicted of the kidnapping/attempted kidnapping, he faces a mandatory minimum of 25 years in prison and a maximum of life.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and MaryJo Thomas, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI’s Richmond Field Office, made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Brian R. Hood and Katherine Lee Martin are prosecuting the case.