Christopher Sueiro, Child Pornography, Virginia 2024

A Fairfax man has been convicted of downloading images and videos depicting children as young as four years old being sexually abused and for utilizing the Darknet to solicit and promote child pornography.

Christopher Sueiro, 39, was convicted of receipt of child pornography, possession of child pornography, attempted receipt of child pornography, and promotion and solicitation of child pornography.

The evidence admitted at trial demonstrated that thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse were found on Sueiro’s electronic devices, according to Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia.

The trafficking of child pornography causes incalculable and irreparable harm to society’s most vulnerable victims, which often continues long after the abuse has occurred, said Parekh.

According to court records and evidence presented at trial, Sueiro used a peer-to-peer network to download images and videos of child sexual abuse. He was also a member of a Darknet hidden service website dedicated to trafficking in child sexual abuse material of preteen boys, where he made posts promoting and soliciting images and videos of child sexual abuse and attempted to receive it from other users of the website.

Sueiro’s electronic devices included documents describing graphic sexual abuse of children and a guide to finding child pornography online. The evidence showed that he downloaded images of child sexual abuse repeatedly over the course of at least four years, amassing thousands of images and videos.

Sueiro faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum penalty of 20 years for each count of conviction when sentenced on June 16. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after taking into account the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

HSI and the City of Fairfax Police Department investigated the case, with significant assistance from the High Technology Investigative Unit (HTIU) of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS).

Assistant U.S. Attorney Nathaniel Smith III and CEOS Trial Attorney James E. Burke IV are prosecuting the case.

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