St. Lucie Man Sentenced to 15 Years for Child Pornography Production

A St. Lucie County man has pleaded guilty to producing child pornography in federal court, sparking outrage and concern for the safety of minors in the community.

Luis Escoto, 28, of St. Lucie County, was arrested in February 2023 by Martin County Sheriff’s Office detectives after a months-long investigation into allegations of child exploitation.

Between November 2022 and January 2023, Escoto engaged in sexual intercourse with a 17-year-old minor, who was about 10 years his junior, in St. Lucie and Martin counties. He recorded the sexual interactions with the minor victim using his cellphone and convinced the victim to send him sexually explicit pictures through text messages and communication platforms.

Escoto’s actions are a stark reminder of the dangers of child exploitation and the importance of vigilance in protecting our children. The production and distribution of child pornography is a heinous crime that causes irreparable harm to its victims.

The case is being prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.

Escoto faces a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, followed by up to a lifetime of supervised release. Sentencing is scheduled for August 2 before U.S. District Judge David S. Liebowitz in Fort Pierce.

U.S. Attorney Markenzy Lapointe for the Southern District of Florida, Special Agent in Charge Anthony Salisbury of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Miami, and Sheriff William D. Snyder of the Martin County Sheriff’s Office announced the guilty plea. HSI Fort Pierce and the Martin County Sheriff’s Office investigated the case, with Managing Assistant U.S. Attorney Carmen Lineberger prosecuting the case.

The case is a stark reminder of the importance of community vigilance in protecting our children from predators like Escoto. We urge anyone with information about child exploitation to contact the authorities immediately.

For more information about the Project Safe Childhood initiative and for information regarding Internet safety, please visit www.justice.gov/psc. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov, under case number 23-cr-14024.