A New York man who posted a sex video of a 16-year-old girl on the adults-only website OnlyFans pleaded guilty in federal court to one count of distributing child pornography.

Matthew Richardson, 36, faces five to 20 years in prison and a US$250,000 (S$326,000) fine when he’s sentenced on Dec 19. The plea agreement was reached in August.

Richardson’s attorney and the US Attorney’s Office for the Western District of New York, which prosecuted the case, declined to comment until after sentencing.

Richardson’s case was cited in a Reuters investigation in July about complaints to police that child sex abuse material was featured on OnlyFans.

Richardson was arrested at a highway rest stop in Ohio in Dec 2022 after running off with the New York teen.

The two had met at a grocery store and began a sexual relationship. Soon after, Richardson recorded himself having sex with the girl. On Nov 9, 2022, he posted the child sexual abuse video on his OnlyFans account under the pseudonym Skylar Ravenwood, according to plea documents filed in the case.

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