By Darian Douraghy – The Postmillennial
A woman who worked as a daycare worker in San Francisco, as well as an East Bay suburb, was sentenced to 25 years in prison after she used her access to vulnerable children to create and distribute child pornography.
A press release from the United States Attorney’s Office in the Northern District of California, which describes Jace Wong as a man despite her gender being female, said that Wong has been sentenced to serve 300 months in prison for the production, attempted production, distribution, and possession of child pornography. Wong was said to have taken part in a scheme to snap photographs and videos of four- to six-year-olds that she could then post on child pornography sites, according to US Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and FBI Special Agent in Charge Robert K. Tripp.
Jace Wong was previously named Robyn Danielle Wong, according to reports.
On April 24, 2023, Wong pleaded guilty to the charges. In her plea agreement, Wong admitted that starting on March 19, 2021, she secretly captured sexually explicit photos and videos of prepubescent minors as they were using the bathroom. These offenses occurred at a San Francisco daycare facility, where she had been employed at the time.
Wong admitted that the children were around four to six years of age and that she had taken pictures and videos showing the prepubescent minors’ genitalia.
According to a report by San Francisco Public Safety News, Wong took videos of “naked and partially-dressed boys and girls in her care” and then shared them with other predators in internet chat rooms. She was also said to have manipulated the genitals of children in addition to encouraging them to touch her in a sexual manner.
Wong’s defense team reportedly attempted to say her actions were caused at least in part by testosterone therapy she had been given, causing an uptick in her sexual urges and libido.
“It is arguable that the medical professionals involved in [Wong’s] gender transition should have exercised greater oversight and provided more guidance to this, at the time, young woman about the potential biological interactions of testosterone and [her] genetic disorder,” attorneys for the defendant wrote.
Upon being questioned by the FBI, Wong admitted to the capturing of graphic children’s videos in her workplace and showed agents a set of over 400 files on her smartphone that depicted videos and images of severe sexual abuse of minors, including an apparent rape of a 6-7 year-old girl.
FBI photos of the Mission area daycare where the abuse took place.
“This case is heartbreaking, to say the least,” stated US Attorney Ramsey. “Jace Wong worked at daycare facilities and victimized at least six young children in her care, not to mention other minors whose images he possessed and distributed. It is not possible to measure the harm he caused. His decades-long prison sentence, however, makes crystal clear that the Department of Justice will work tirelessly to remove perpetrators who victimize our most vulnerable citizens — young children — from society so they cannot continue their heinous behavior.”
In addition to the recorded offenses in San Francisco, Wong said in the plea agreement that she shot at least three videos of the prepubescent minors she was caring for at a separate daycare center in Livermore, California between August 2019 and December 2020.
A federal grand jury indicted Wong on Oct. 18, 2022, charging her with five counts of production or attempted production of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2251(a) and (e); one count of distribution of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2) and (b); and one count of possession of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b)(2). Wong pleaded guilty to all the counts, per the release.
Wong has been detained since her initial arrest in April 2021 and immediately began serving his prison term. Wong also will have 15 years of supervised release upon completing his term.