Marcus Moreno, Transfer of Obscenity to Minor, West Virginia 2023

MARTINSBURG, WEST VIRGINIA – A Texas man has admitted to sending obscene material to a minor, U.S. Attorney Randolph J. Bernard announced today.

Marcus Moreno, 27, pleaded guilty to one count of "Transfer of Obscenity to Minor" in U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert W. Trumble’s court.

Moreno began communicating with a minor located in Berkeley County, West Virginia, via social media applications such as Snapchat, KIK, WhatsApp, and the minor’s school email accounts.

The victim’s parents turned over her phone to investigators, who found thousands of text messages, chats, and video communications between the victim and Moreno dating from October 2018 to January 2019, when the victim was 15 years old.

Forensics revealed thousands of images of child pornography of the victim and obscene pornographic images of Moreno. Moreno gave a voluntary statement to agents in May 2019, stating he met the victim online in a chat room when she had just turned 14.

He admitted to sending obscene images of himself to the victim and planned to marry her when she turned 18. During the search of his home, the FBI found thousands of other graphic files and video files of the victim on several flash drives and devices.

Moreno faces up to 10 years of incarceration and a fine of up to $250,000. Under the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, the actual sentence imposed will be based upon the seriousness of the offenses and the prior criminal history, if any, of the defendant.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberley D. Crockett is prosecuting the case on behalf of the government. The FBI and the West Virginia State Police investigated.

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