Source: US FBI
A San Fernando Valley man has been sentenced to life in federal prison after pleading guilty to four counts of child exploitation, including possession, distribution and production of child pornography, as well as coercion and enticement of a minor to engage in sex, the FBI announced today.
Edwin Bernard, 79, of Sylmar, was sentenced on Thursday to life in prison by the Honorable Josephine L. Staton, United States District Court judge. A restitution hearing is scheduled for October 9.
According to sentencing documents filed with the court, Bernard sought out vulnerable boys online, groomed and engaged them romantically, and then induced them to engage in sexually explicit behavior at his direction from at least 2009 to 2014.
Bernard screen recorded at least two victims, capturing their written communications and sexual acts on video. Bernard sexually abused a third victim in person and amassed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) for years, resulting in a collection of more than 115,000 suspected CSAM files on his devices.
By at least 2009, Bernard served as a moderator under the usernames “netzoomer” and “netzoomer16” on websites where men seek to engage sexually with minor boys. Through this connection, Bernard met a 14-year-old victim and instructed the victim to perform sex acts, including cutting to the point of bleeding, which Bernard recorded on at least two occasions without the victim’s permission or knowledge.
Edwin Bernard has been sentenced to life in prison on multiple counts related to child exploitation. Based on Bernard’s criminal history and conviction of abusing minors, the FBI believes he may have additional victims who have not yet been identified. His photo is, therefore, being released and anyone who believes they were victimized or who has information about a victim, is urged to contact the FBI. The FBI can be reached at 1 800 CALL-FBI.
Bernard’s exploitation extended beyond digital communications. In 2011, the defendant met another minor victim online and befriended him, later grooming him to provide him with nude photos. In March 2014, when the victim was 16 years old, Bernard flew from California to another state where the victim boy resided and rented a hotel room where he took the victim. After instructing the victim to undress, Bernard raped him.
From 2016 to 2018, Bernard encouraged others to engage in the abuse of children; specifically, Michael Rushmer, with whom Bernard discussed Rushmer’s sexual exploitation of a 13-year-old boy. Rushmer was arrested by the FBI and pleaded guilty in August 2019 in U.S. District Court in Binghamton, New York, to producing CSAM and engaging in sex with a minor. Rushmer is serving a 25-year federal prison sentence for his crimes.
On December 5, 2019, the FBI executed a federal search warrant at Bernard’s home and seized digital devices, one of which contained more than 38,000 files of suspected child pornography and nearly 40,000 files of suspected child erotica. In total, the FBI identified more than 115,000 files as containing suspected CSAM across Bernard’s devices. Bernard was ultimately arrested and pleaded guilty in February 2025.
The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) identified at least 207 real children whose sexual abuse was depicted in images and videos the defendant possessed. There were multiple videos and images depicting infants and toddlers, as well as masochistic sexual conduct involving children under the age of 12. Based on an analysis of the metadata, Bernard had been collecting CSAM files for over a decade.
Based on Bernard’s criminal history and conviction of abusing minors, the FBI believes he may have additional victims who have not yet been identified. His photo is, therefore, being released and anyone who believes they were victimized or who has information about a victim, is urged to contact the FBI. The FBI can be reached at 1 800 CALL-FBI.
This investigation was conducted by the FBI and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Diane Roldán and Suria Bahadue.