⏱ 2 min read
A Houston man orchestrated the sexual abuse of a toddler in a twisted online scheme that spanned over a year. Victor Zuniga, 27, spent 14 months trying to arrange a meeting to facilitate the abuse of a toddler, sending and receiving explicit child pornography to accomplices and predators.
The investigation began in December 2023, after four disturbing videos from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation were flagged. Zuniga’s phone was seized, revealing a 42-minute video recording of live child abuse, as well as numerous images and videos of minors being exploited.
Zuniga pleaded guilty on January 15 and was sentenced to 324 months in prison, to be followed by life on supervised release. He will be subject to strict internet restrictions during his supervised release.
The case was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat child exploitation and abuse. The FBI’s Houston office led the investigation, with assistance from U.S. Attorneys Lauren Valenti and Kimberly Leo.
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- John Anthony Perez, Sexual Exploitation of a Child, Texas 2016 · Iowa
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- Michael Shane Smith, Child Sexual Abuse Materials, Gadsden AL 2024 · Idaho
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