Prosecutors seek 12-year sentence for child therapist Renee Hoberman, of Plainview, who had 'exceptionally violent child pornography,' court document shows
Plainview child therapist Renee Hoberman. Credit: Marisol Diaz
Federal investigators found "well over 100” files of "exceptionally violent child pornography" on the electronic devices of a Long Island child therapist, prosecutors revealed in a court filing seeking a more than 12-year prison sentence for the convicted social worker.
Renee Hoberman, 37, of Plainview, is facing a mandatory minimum of 5 years in federal prison when she is sentenced in Central Islip federal court Friday. The licensed master social worker, who worked with children at a mental health office in Melville before her October 2024 arrest and also reportedly worked at a day care facility, pleaded guilty to receipt and distribution of child pornography in June.
"By the nature of her profession, [Hoberman] was entrusted by parents and schools to care for and protect the youngest and most vulnerable members of society," Assistant United States Attorney Kaitlin McTague wrote in a presentencing memorandum Friday, adding Hoberman actively sough out graphic videos of infants and toddlers being abused "for her own perverse pleasure."
The filing reveals that federal investigators estimate based on a review of Hoberman’s online chat history that she likely traded more than 600 photos and videos of child sexual abuse before to her arrest. The U.S. Department of Homeland Security opened an investigation into the therapist after the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received several online tips regarding Kik Messenger conversations about child pornography, court records show.
WHAT NEWSDAY FOUND
- Federal prosecutors are seeking a more than 12-year prison sentence for Plainview child therapist Renee Hoberman, who admitted to receipt and distribution of child pornography, a new court filing shows.
- Investigators found more than 100 photos and videos depicting child sex abuse on Hoberman's devices and estimate she may have exchanged as many as 600 such images before her arrest, records show.
- Her defense is seeking the minimum 5-year prison sentence.
Prosecutors said that between June and September 2024 Hoberman, who went by the nickname Rina, uploaded at least 20 images and videos depicting child sexual abuse, some showing females as young as 6 months old. She was also accused by investigators of masquerading in an online chat as an abusive father with videos of his own kids.
"In one particularly disturbing chat, [Hoberman] even provided a clothed photograph of an identified child — a family friend — whom she claimed was her own and discussed details of abuse of that child," McTague wrote.
Hoberman was arrested by agents with Homeland Security Investigations on Oct. 23, 2024, and was indicted the following month by a grand jury charging her with three counts of receipt and distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. She pleaded guilty to one count of receipt and distribution.
Defense attorney Evan Sugar, of Hauppauge, asked U.S. District Judge Joanna Seybert to sentence Hoberman to the minimum 5 years in federal prison, court records show. Sugar, who could not be immediately reached for comment Monday, previously told Newsday in an email that his client had no prior criminal history and there were no allegations she ever abused a child.
Prosecutors are seeking a punishment of more than 12½ years' incarceration, the high end of a federal guideline sentence of between 121 and 151 months behind bars, according to the memo. The U.S. Department of Probation recommended a below-guideline sentence of 8 years in prison, the same filing shows.
While the Probation Department report and defense memo remain under seal, the U.S. Attorney’s Office noted they reveal Hoberman had a difficult life that included struggles with mental health and addiction.
Prosecutors argue Hoberman, who was placed into adoption at a young age, has the "loving support" of her family but still engaged in "heinous criminal activity." Prosecutors allege she admitted during a law enforcement interview to receiving sexual gratification from viewing pornography involving infants and toddlers, to fulfill her "perverse sexual fantasies."
"Were it not for law enforcement intervention and her arrest, there is no evidence that she would have ever stopped this dangerous and sordid behavior," McTague wrote in her memo to Seybert.
Hoberman, who had been licensed as a master social worker since 2015, was fired from her part-time job as a child therapist with LifeStance Health in Melville upon her arrest, a company spokesperson said at the time. Her license was suspended in April, state records show.
Hoberman also provided youth counseling services at South Oaks Hospital in Amityville, according to her online resume. A spokesperson for Northwell Health, which operates that facility, told Newsday she left their employment in 2021. Prosecutors also said in Friday’s memo that Hoberman formerly worked for a day care but did not publicly name the facility.
Grant Parpan covers Suffolk County courts and federal courts for Newsday. A Long Island native, he joined Newsday in 2022.
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