Elliott Velez, Child Pornography Production, Virginia 2022

A Surprise, Arizona man has been sentenced to 30 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Elliott Velez, 38, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Raymond A. Jackson after being convicted of production of child sexual abuse material (CSAM), a crime that is punishable by up to 30 years in prison. Velez, an active-duty Senior Master Sergeant in the Air Force, was located in Newport News during the time of his illegal conduct.

According to court documents, from summer 2021 through March 2022, Velez used over 28 known fictitious social media accounts across multiple platforms to engage in sexually graphic conversations with girls under the age of 18. During these conversations with the victims, Velez would instruct them to engage in sexually explicit conduct, take photos or videos, and send the images to him. Velez would give explicit instructions on what he wanted them to do and who he wanted them to engage in sexually explicit conduct with, including other underage individuals. Review of just one account during the span of just one week Velez had engaged in over 7,000 lines of sexually graphic conversations with minors.

Velez would use a recording device on his phone to ensure that he could keep these videos and images without the victim’s knowledge. The FBI’s Norfolk Child Exploitation Task Force (NCETF) investigated the case, as part of Project Safe Childhood. The NCETF is composed of FBI agents and detectives from the Chesapeake Police Department, Hampton Police Division, and Newport News Police Department. Assistance in this matter was also provided by federal agents from Homeland Security Investigations.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Devon Heath. This case highlights the importance of community-based educational outreach and prevention programs in raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults. In 2021, the Eastern District of Virginia launched “UnMasked,” a community-based educational outreach and prevention program in Virginia dedicated to raising awareness and educating the community about the prevalence of online sexual exploitation involving children and young adults.

UnMasked is a multi-disciplinary partnership of local, state, federal, and non-profit stakeholders. The core curriculum is provided by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s (NCMEC) NetSmartz program. To report an incident involving online sexual exploitation, call 1-800-843-5678 or submit a report at report.cybertip.org. To request an UnMasked event at your school or organization, please contact EDVA’s Community Outreach Coordinator at USAVAE-UnMasked@usdoj.gov.

The public is urged to report any suspicious activity to the authorities. Tips regarding child exploitation can be provided to the task force at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov. The FBI encourages the public to report any information about online child exploitation to the Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) at ic3.gov.

The U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia thanks the FBI’s Norfolk Field Office, Homeland Security Investigations, and local law enforcement agencies for their assistance in this case.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 4:22-cr-28.

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