Clinton County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offenses

Clinton County Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offenses

Miguel Angel Vasquez Torres, 34, from Beckemeyer, Illinois, has pleaded guilty to a three-count indictment charging him with Production of Child Pornography, Distribution of Child Pornography, and Receipt of Child Pornography.

Acting United States Attorney James L. Porter announced the guilty plea on March 1, 2016. Vasquez Torres has been in custody since his arrest on August 25, 2015.

According to documents filed in the U.S. District Court, the Federal Bureau of Investigation received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) CyberTipline in May 2015, regarding an individual who was uploading child pornography to a Photobucket.com cloud storage account.

A search of the Photobucket account revealed that it belonged to Vasquez Torres and contained numerous video and image files containing child pornography. During a subsequent search of his residence, law enforcement officers seized two cellular telephones and numerous other items of computer media.

During an interview with law enforcement officers, Vasquez Torres admitted to downloading and distributing video files containing child pornography. He also admitted to repeatedly sexually abusing a minor over several years and photographing his acts of abuse.

Vasquez Torres faces a prison term of not less than 15 years up to life, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years up to life for the charge of Production of Child Pornography.

On the charges of Distribution and Receipt of Child Pornography, Vasquez Torres faces a term of imprisonment of not less than 5 years up to 20 years, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of not less than 5 years up to life on each count.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.