A convicted pedophile from New Rochelle is headed to prison for 21 years for abusing three 12-year-old boys for four years.

The assistant district attorneys read victim impact statements to the court as Jason Ricketts was sentenced to 21 years in a state prison and 20 years of post-release supervision. He will also have to register as a sex offender.

District Attorney Mimi Rocah said that Ricketts befriended the boys, one of whom was only 8 years old when they first met, and pretended to be much younger than he actually was. The abuse went on from 2019 to 2023.

"He repeatedly engaged in sexual conduct with them [the victims] and worse he filmed the encounters, collecting materials to coerce and control them," the DA said.

She says that is called "sextortion," and it's what gave him control over his victims.

So how did Ricketts finally get caught? Dropbox.

They filed a report with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, about an uploaded video containing minors engaged in sexual acts. A subsequent investigation led them to Ricketts.

"Forensic analysis of his phone revealed a photo vault, disguised as a calculator app containing dozens of videos and photos of the defendant performing sexual acts on children. This is how we were able to discover the three child victims in Westchester," explained Rocah.

Rocah called Ricketts a "relentless predator who will stop at nothing to fulfill his sexual desires," and Ricketts actually agreed. But he says the year he's spent in prison since his arrest has made him a changed man.

"A lot of those words said about me are no longer true," said Ricketts. He added that while his victims may not forgive him, he's already been forgiven by God.

County Court Judge James Mccarty said his crimes were reprehensible in his sentencing of Ricketts.