Honk News (New York City, NY) – A married health care executive from Nassau County is accused of exploiting nearly a dozen teenage girls to create child pornography over four years — involving two minors whom he instructed to refer to him as “daddy” and compensated for the disturbing material.
Jacob Walden, 38, faced arraignment Wednesday morning in Central Islip Federal Court, where he was charged in a six-count indictment for the sexual exploitation of two teenagers, aged 16 and 17, whom he allegedly coerced into producing sexually explicit videos and photographs, as stated by the US Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of New York.
Authorities retrieved unsettling images from Walden’s cellphone last April, revealing that he had reached out to at least 11 girls, some as young as 14, whom he manipulated into sending inappropriate content and compensated, as stated in court documents.
Authorities identified and spoke with the young victims, aged 16 and 17, as part of an investigation initiated by federal agents in September 2023.
“As alleged, the defendant enticed minors to produce sexually explicit photographs and videos of themselves and send them to him via the internet in exchange for payment,” United States Attorney John J. Durham said in a statement.
“Protecting children from predators who sexually exploit them will always be a priority of my Office.”
Authorities uncovered that Walden, a father of five, had made numerous purchases of at least 500 images and 5,000 videos showcasing horrific acts of rape, bestiality, and the exploitation of young children from a significant production and distribution network targeting adult male consumers both domestically and internationally, as detailed in court documents.
Authorities also found an encrypted chat on Walden’s phone discussing the acquisition of two packages containing illicit material involving minors.
According to court documents, authorities discovered over 20,500 files containing illicit material in Walden’s cloud storage.
Walden, who co-owns and manages Emerald Healthcare, a firm overseeing nursing and assisted living facilities across the country, maintained communication with his child victims from 2020 to 2024.
Walden remains in custody without bail at the Metropolitan Detention Center in Brooklyn, as law enforcement sources indicate, following prosecutors’ claims that he poses a flight risk and a threat to the community.
Walden faces serious allegations, including two counts of sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography, and two counts of accessing with intent to view child pornography, as outlined in the indictment.
Prosecutors indicated that if found guilty, he could be sentenced to as much as 30 years behind bars.
He is scheduled to return to court on February 24.