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Italian National Sentenced to Over 26 Years in Prison for International Child Exploitation and Money Laundering
MIAMI – In a federal court, an Italian national, Marco Pagano, 41, was sentenced to 320 months in prison for using social media and online payments to entice minor victims in the United States and around the world to produce and send him sexually explicit images of themselves.
On February 25, Pagano pleaded guilty to charges of child exploitation and international promotional money laundering. According to court documents and statements made in court, Pagano engaged in illegal online exchanges with multiple minor victims, including four victims between the ages of 14 and 16 living in the United Kingdom.
Pagano used online payment systems to pay those minor victims to create sexually explicit photographs and videos and send them to him through a social media application. For the four minor victims living in the United Kingdom, Pagano used his online payment accounts more than 180 times to send thousands of dollars from the United States. More broadly, Pagano’s online accounts revealed more than one thousand payments made in small denominations to victims across the world.
In addition to his prison sentence, Pagano was ordered to serve 15 years of supervised release. The court will determine restitution at a later date.
The investigation was led by the FBI Miami, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Zachary A. Keller prosecuting the case. This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
Anyone with information relating to child sexual exploitation or abuse is encouraged to call the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI.
Key Facts
- State: Florida
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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