Date: 07-20-2016

Case Style: United States of America v. Nicholas Mazza

Case Number: 1:14-cr-00446-LMM-JFK

Judge: Leigh May

Court: United States District Court for the Northern District of Georgia (Fulton County)

Plaintiff's Attorney: Paul Rhinehart Jones

Defendant's Attorney: Allison Cobham Dawson

Description: Atlanta, GA - Girls’ Softball Coach Sentenced to Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

Nicholas Mazza has been sentenced to seven years, three months in federal prison for distributing child pornography. The defendant is a former girls softball coach who had over 140,000 videos and pictures of sexual abuse of young girls when he was arrested. Mazza worked as a coach for girls’ softball teams in Cobb County, Georgia.

“It is incomprehensible that anyone could enjoy watching a child as young as three years old being sexually abused,” said U.S. Attorney John Horn. “Mazza had a massive collection of child pornography, and it is especially disturbing that this defendant worked around children. This sentence is a stark reminder of the importance of these investigations to the safety of our children.”

“Child pornography is one of the most heinous crimes HSI investigates due to the irrevocable harm it inflicts physically and emotionally upon innocent children,” said HSI Atlanta Special Agent in Charge Nick S. Annan. “This crime is an outrage in all cases; however, it was especially so in this instance given the massive quantity of illegal images recovered and the subject’s proximity to children. ICE Homeland Security Investigations is committed to investigating and seeking prosecution of child sex offenders as one of the agency’s highest priorities.”

According to U.S. Attorney Horn, the charges and other information presented in court: Mazza used a peer-to-peer file sharing program to search for and download child pornography files on the Internet. In October 2014, special agents with Homeland Security Investigations downloaded 14 videos of child pornography that Mazza kept in a folder that made the files available to other persons using the same peer-to-peer file sharing program. While downloading the files, the agents were able to capture the Internet Protocol address of the computer, which identifies the physical location of the computer. The agents obtained a federal search warrant for the house associated with that Internet Protocol address, and they carried it out in early November 2014. The agents took multiple computers, hard drives, and thumb drives.

A computer forensics analysis of all of those items showed that the defendant possessed more than 143,000 images and videos of child pornography involving almost exclusively young girls. The files included the sexual abuse of children as young as three years old, and many files depicted sadistic abuse of the children. Prior to his indictment in this case, Mazza worked as a coach for girls’ softball teams in Cobb County, Georgia.

Mazza, 67, of Powder Springs, Georgia, was sentenced to seven years, three months in prison to be followed by ten years of supervised release. Mazza was convicted on these charges on May 10, 2016, after he pleaded guilty. He was sentenced on July 15, 2016, by U.S. District Judge Leigh May.

This case was investigated by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations.

This case is being brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In February 2006, the Attorney General launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorney’s Offices around the country, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov. [external link]

For further information please contact the U.S. Attorney’s Public Affairs Office at USAGAN.PressEmails@usdoj.gov
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or (404) 581-6016 [Call: (404) 581-6016] [Call: (404) 581-6016] . The Internet address for the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Georgia is http://www.justice.gov/usao-ndga.

Outcome: Defendant has been sentenced to seven years, three months in federal prison.

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Defendant's Experts:

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