Killer gets 27 years for shooting porn of girl, 8, in Vernon

May 3—A Hartford man who spent some 26 years in prison for murder was sentenced Monday to another 27 years in federal prison for using an 8-year-old girl to make pornography in Vernon.

The girl told authorities that when the man — Ronald Daniel, now 52, — was shooting pornography of her in his car at a park, "she tried to run away but, 'he just kept on chasing me and putting me back in the car,'" according to prosecutor Nancy V. Gifford.

The girl said she "tried to tell someone at the park, but Daniel hit her 'about 10 times' with his hand and with a wrench," the prosecutor continued in her sentencing memorandum. The girl said the blows really hurt, and she didn't tell anyone after that.

CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

DEFENDANT: Ronald Lee Daniel, 52, of Hartford

GUILTY PLEA: Producing child pornography

SENTENCE: 27 years in federal prison, followed by 10 years' supervised release

PENDING: State sexual assault charges in Vernon Superior Court

When she resisted, the girl said, Daniel told her to stop moving or he would have to hurt or kill her, according to the prosecutor.

"Daniel wanted to gain access to a private group dedicated to sharing child pornography," the prosecutor explained. "Before he could be admitted, he was required to share an image with the group's administrator."

On Dec. 2 and 3, 2018, Daniel uploaded three images of the girl, using the screen name "letsgogetluv," the prosecutor wrote.

He accompanied them with this message to the group's administrator: "This is the one I've worked with."

Producing child pornography carries 15 to 30 years in prison, and federal sentencing guidelines called for Daniel to get the 30-year maximum, the prosecutor wrote.

Judge Kari A. Dooley, who sits in U.S. District Court in Bridgeport, imposed the 27-year sentence, to be followed by 10 years' supervised release, which is similar to probation.

"Daniel's childhood was unique only insofar as it does not reflect the severe hardships that afflict many of the defendants who regularly appear before this court," the prosecutor wrote.

She acknowledged that his abandonment by his biological father was "challenging and difficult," but added that he had "a loving mother who provided for his family and he was 'blessed with a good education' that included private parochial school and boarding school."

"Daniel reported that his use of alcohol and marijuana intensified in his late teens and he began using cocaine," the prosecutor continued, adding that substance abuse led to arrests for robbery, larceny, and ultimately murder.

Assistant Federal Defenders Ashley H. Meskill and Charles F. Willson sought a 17 1/4 -year sentence for Daniel, which they argued would be equivalent to a 20-year sentence, taking into account the time he has spent in jail while the case was pending.

Daniel is still facing multiple felony counts in Vernon Superior Court, including four counts of aggravated sexual assault on a victim younger than 13, which carries a mandatory 25-year sentence.

The defense lawyers wrote in their sentencing memo that the escalation of Daniel's substance abuse in his teenage years "landed him in the dark underbelly of Hartford, engaging in drug-dealing and violence."

During a drug transaction in 1988, Daniel and his dealer got into a violent altercation, and Daniel shot the dealer, killing him, the defense lawyers continued. For the next 26 years, which he spent in prison, life for Daniel "was all about survival," they wrote.

After he was released, they continued, Daniel got a smartphone and discovered the internet, including the dark web, where he encountered "a variety of extremely deviant content, including child pornography" and was "completely sucked in."

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