Operator Of Lucrative Online Pornography Marketplace “The Ho Zone” Sentenced To 20 Years In Prison
“The Ho Zone” Sold Access to Child Pornography and Illegally Obtained Adult Pornography
Tuesday, February 24, 2026 - United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, announced today that KYLE WHITE was sentenced to 20 years in prison for advertising and distributing child pornography on his online marketplace he called “The Ho Zone.” On October 21, 2025, WHITE pled guilty before U.S. District Judge Colleen McMahon, who imposed today’s sentence.
“Kyle White’s operation of the large-scale online pornography marketplace he callously dubbed ‘The Ho Zone’ caused immeasurable harm to his over one thousand child and adult victims whose sexual abuse materials he distributed to thousands of paying customers,” said U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton. “White’s high-volume, illegal pornography enterprise earned him a staggering profit at the expense of innocent children and young women whose sexual trauma he broadcast to the world. There is a clear message from today's 20-year sentence: anyone who seeks to profit from the sexual exploitation of children will face justice for their heinous crimes. Every New York family wants Kyle White's 'Ho Zone' operation shut down and Mr. White off the streets.”
According to documents filed in this case and statements made in related court proceedings:
WHITE ran an online pornography marketplace known as “The Ho Zone” on the messaging application Telegram, earning a profit of over $387,000. WHITE categorized the pornography he advertised and sold on “The Ho Zone” into dozens of groups and channels with thousands of members and subscribers, such as “Other Teen (18+) Leaks,” “THZ Black Market,” “MOST POPULAR GIRLS LISTS,” “Tiktoker Private Leaks,” “ATHLEAKS,” and more. Within each of these groups and channels, WHITE further categorized the pornography by the name of the woman or minor girl featured in the sexually explicit content. Each group and channel on “The Ho Zone” featured a variety of free content as a preview of what users could get if they were to pay WHITE for full access. Such access cost between $15 and $75 depending on the pornography purchased. Once a user paid WHITE for the content of a specific woman or minor girl available on “The Ho Zone,” the user gained permanent access to numerous sexually explicit photographs and videos of that woman or minor girl that WHITE had compiled, enhanced, and edited.
WHITE advertised and sold child pornography on “The Ho Zone,” which depicted minor victims as young as 11 years old, as well as minor victims engaging in sexually explicit conduct with their minor victim siblings. WHITE also sold illegally obtained adult pornography on “The Ho Zone,” including pornography that had been hacked from women’s cellphones and pornography that was the product of blackmail and extortion. Most of the women featured were between 18 and 23 years old. In total, WHITE advertised and distributed illegal pornography of over one thousand adult and minor victims.
WHITE knew that running “The Ho Zone” was illegal but he continued to sell child pornography and illegally obtained adult pornography on the marketplace because it was lucrative. For example, WHITE claimed in a message to another Telegram user that he “made over 300k in the first year” of operating “The Ho Zone.”[1] WHITE also stated that he did not want to stop selling child pornography because “[i]t’s just easier said than done givin up $1,000’s,” and WHITE was “sure the feds got more important things to worry abt [sic] lol.”
After the FBI searched WHITE’s home and seized his electronic devices, WHITE engaged in obstruction of justice. Although WHITE pretended to assist the FBI in shutting down “The Ho Zone,” in reality, WHITE continued running “The Ho Zone” on a backup account from a new cellphone.
Victims of WHITE and “The Ho Zone” are encouraged to visit https://forms.fbi.gov/victims/THZVictims to learn about available resources that may assist them.
* * *
In addition to the prison term, WHITE, 27, of Louisville, Kentucky, was sentenced to 20 years of supervised release.
Mr. Clayton praised the outstanding investigative work of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, and in particular, the victim specialists with FBI’s New York Division.
This case is being supervised by the Office’s General Crimes Unit. Assistant U.S. Attorney Chelsea L. Scism is in charge of the prosecution.
[1] Communications referenced herein are described in substance and in part.
Contact
Nicholas Biase, Shelby Wratchford
(212) 637-2600
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York
