Alex Kai Tick Chin, a 40-year-old resident of San Francisco, California, has been sentenced to 37 years in prison for several child exploitation crimes, followed by 20 years of supervised release. The sentencing, handed down in Huntington, West Virginia, relates to charges of production of child pornography, enticing a minor, and committing a sex crime against a minor while registered as a sex offender.
Chin was convicted by a federal jury on August 22, 2024. Evidence presented during the three-day trial revealed that between December 12, 2020, and February 14, 2021, Chin coerced a minor female in the Southern District of West Virginia into sending sexually explicit images via Snapchat. He reportedly threatened self-harm to manipulate the minor into compliance.
Additionally, Chin engaged in similar conduct with a second minor female in the same region, soliciting nude images and engaging in sexual conversations. He allegedly threatened self-harm to the second minor female as well. Chin also sent explicit photos and videos of himself to this minor, including an image of him masturbating.
Efforts to meet the minors in person were made by Chin in March 2022, when he traveled from California to the Southern District of West Virginia. These attempts were unsuccessful.
Already a registered sex offender, Chin's status stemmed from a previous conviction in the Superior Court of California, City and County of San Francisco, in December 2017 for possession of child pornography.
“The defendant was already a convicted sex offender when he targeted these two minor victims online. He groomed them, preyed upon their vulnerabilities, and coerced them into sending him pictures,” said Acting United States Attorney Lisa G. Johnston. “He has shown a complete inability to take any responsibility for his own actions or demonstrate any remorse for his conduct, which was reprehensible in this case.”
The announcement was made by Johnston, who commended the investigative work of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Jennifer Rada Herrald and Courtney L. Finney. United States District Judge Robert C. Chambers imposed the sentence.
The case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Through federal, state, and local resources, the project aims to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals exploiting children online, as well as rescue victims.
For more information on Project Safe Childhood, visit www.justice.gov/psc. Additional court documents and information are accessible via PACER by searching Case No. 3:22-cr-87.