A Lodi man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison this week after prosecutors say he spent roughly three years grooming a child who lived outside the United States, eventually luring the child and the child's family to New Jersey, where he sexually assaulted the minor victim. Corey Hipscher, 55, pleaded guilty to receipt and possession of child sexual abuse materials, authorities said.
According to NJ.com, Hipscher began communicating on social media with the child starting in 2020, a relationship that stretched on for about three years. U.S. Attorney Robert Frazer said Hipscher encouraged the child to send him explicit images and videos during that time. The U.S. Attorney's Office separately announced that the Bergen County man was sentenced to 20 years' imprisonment for receipt and possession of multiple images of child sexual abuse, a statement confirmed via the District of New Jersey.
Online Relationship Escalated to an In-Person Visit
Frazer said Hipscher did not stop at contacting the child directly — he also began an online relationship with the child's mother. Prosecutors say he ultimately convinced the mother to travel to New Jersey with the child and the child's sibling.
In March 2024, Hipscher, then 52, was charged by complaint with one count each of production, receipt and possession of child pornography, according to the District of New Jersey. The charges filed against him at the time were allegations, not findings of guilt.
Guilty Plea and Sentencing Terms
Hipscher pleaded guilty to receipt and possession of child sexual abuse materials, authorities said. Along with the 20-year prison term, he was sentenced to 15 years of supervised release once he completes his sentence.
The sentence lands amid broader national data on how these cases are typically handled in federal court. The U.S. Sentencing Commission reported that less than 1% of child pornography sentences nationally were upward departures, while the average sentence increase in such cases was 45%, and 57% of sentences for child pornography were variances, according to the U.S. Sentencing Commission. The commission's figures do not identify a comparable case to Hipscher's or explain how his sentence fits into that broader pattern.
