With the permission of talkofthesound.com, pictured above are recent, social media photos of Jason Ricketts. Ricketts, 22, of New Rochelle was arrested by the Westchester County District Attorney’s Office and arraigned in New Rochelle City Court on February 2, and was charged with multiple felony sex offenses involving children.
Ricketts is a recent graduated of New Rochelle High school, and according to the courts documents obtained by talkofthesound.com, based on the date of some of his crimes, were conducted while he was a high school student.
The Westchester County District Attorney’s Office’s Cyber Crimes Bureau, Child Abuse Bureau, High Technology Crimes Squad and Criminal Investigators with the Special Prosecutions Division conducted the investigation after receiving a referral from The National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. referred the case to the Westchester DA’s office and Ricketts was arrested and charged with Course of Sexual Conduct Against a Child in the First Degree, Use of a Child in a Sexual Performance, Promoting an Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child, and Possessing an Obscene Sexual Performance by a Child, all felonies. The defendant is currently being held on bail, which was set at $250,000 cash.
Westchester County District Attorney Miriam E. Rocah is urging any possible victims of Ricketts to contact the DA’s Office or police. Law enforcement has seized multiple devices, which are being analyzed to identify other possible victims or witnesses.
DA Rocah said: “Sexual exploitation of minors is a crime that preys upon their vulnerabilities. We ask anyone who may have been victimized or may have information about other victims to contact us. We recognize the great difficulty for survivors to come forward, but stand ready to provide support for victims as our investigation continues.”
Anyone who may have been victimized or may have information about other possible victims of the defendant can contact the DA’s Office Special Prosecutions Division at (914) 995-3000.
The Talkofthesound.com has covered the case in New Rochelle Court and has more details on the charges against Ricketts, which include one act of sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a child less than 13 years old. –https://talkofthesound.com/2023/02/02/nsfw-new-rochelle-man-charged-with-multiple-felony-charges-for-production-and-distribution-of-child-pornography/
The charges against Ricketts stem from incidents which occurred between 2019 and as recently as January 2023. Some of the criminal charges include victims less than 13 years old, and in August of 2022, the defendant “promoted” a video file (downloaded the file to Dropbox) that included sexual conduct with a person under the age of 17.
The most recent offense Ricketts is charged with was on Jan. 18, 2023, when he had in his possession “an obscene performance which includes sexual conduct by a child less than sixteen years of age.”
Ricketts is being held at the Westchester County Jail, pending a bond for his release, which is set at $250,000 cash, $500,000 bond and $1 million partially-secured bond.
Kudos to Robert Cox, Publisher of Talk of the Sound, for his work in the courts to uncover cases of serious sexual abuse that the public should be made aware of.
