News and Press Releases
Man sentenced for producing child pornography
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 10, 2012
MINNEAPOLIS—Today in federal court, a 31-year-old man was sentenced for producing child pornography. United States District Judge David S. Doty sentenced Abimael Castellon-Laureano to 300 months in prison on one count of production of child pornography. Castellon-Laureano, who was indicted on April 12, 2011, pleaded guilty on November 16, 2011.
Following today’s sentencing, J. Chris Warrener, Special Agent in Charge of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Minneapolis Field Office, said, “The FBI and its law enforcement partners on the Cyber Crimes Task Force remain committed to eradicating child pornography wherever it exists. It is a crime which victimizes the most vulnerable among us.”
In his plea agreement, Castellon-Laureano admitted that between April of 2009 and January of 2010, he induced minors to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing a visual depiction of such conduct. Police seized a DVD that contained the child pornography during the execution of a search warrant at Castellon-Laureano’s residence. The two victims were under the age of ten during that time period.
This case was the result of an investigation by the Minnesota Cyber Crimes Task Force, which is sponsored by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the U.S. Secret Service. Other agencies that participated in the investigation include the Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office and the Dayton Police Department. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle E. Jones.
Presently, the Justice Department is presently funding a study focused on the correlation between involvement in child pornography and hands-on sexual abuse of children. A 2008 study (The Butner Study) published in the Journal of Family Violence found that up to 80 percent of federal inmates incarcerated for possession, receipt, or distribution of child pornography also admitted to hands-on sexual abuse of children, ranging from touching to rape.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identify and rescue victims. For more information about PSC, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/resources.html and click on the tab “resources.”
