Abel Ambrocio, Child Exploitation, Virginia 2020

Alexandria, Va. – In a shocking case of child exploitation, Abel Ambrocio, 55, of Alexandria, was sentenced to 22 years in prison for producing child pornography.

According to court documents, Ambrocio developed an online relationship with a woman in Honduras over a social media platform in March 2018. The woman was instructed by Ambrocio to record and send him over 100 images of herself sexually abusing two children, an approximately three-year-old boy and an approximately ten-year-old girl.

Ambrocio instructed the woman to engage in specific sex acts with the children and record herself doing so on multiple occasions, even when she told Ambrocio that one of the children was in pain and crying from the previous sex act. Later, in March 2019, Ambrocio distributed images of the woman sexually abusing the three-year-old boy over a social media platform.

The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, which is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia.

The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking. Significant assistance in this matter was provided by the Fairfax County Police.

Abel Ambrocio will serve a lifetime of supervised release following his 22-year prison sentence. The case was brought 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.

Tips regarding child exploitation and human trafficking can be provided to the task force at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

The public is encouraged to report any suspicious activity to the authorities. The case was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Clayman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim.

Sentence by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga. This case is a stark reminder of the devastating consequences of child exploitation and the importance of reporting suspicious activity to the authorities.

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