MINNEAPOLIS, MN – United States Attorney Erica H. MacDonald announced today that JOSIAH RAUL MOSQUEDA, 28, a former volunteer at the Minneapolis charter school and a middle school in the city, has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. MOSQUEDA pleaded guilty on December 6, 2019, to one count of production of child pornography.
MacDonald emphasized that MOSQUEDA, who had direct access to students as a school employee and volunteer, exploited the trust placed in him by grooming young and vulnerable victims for his own sexual gratification. The Court recognized the gravity of his actions and sentenced him accordingly.
Details from MOSQUEDA’s guilty plea and court documents revealed that he used social media platforms such as Skype, Facebook Messenger, Instagram, Twitter, Kik, WhatsApp, and Snapchat to communicate with at least ten minor male victims. He solicited nude images and videos of himself, suggesting in-person encounters and offering favors in exchange for sexual contact. MOSQUEDA also engaged the minors in sexually explicit conversations and distributed his own pornographic material.
In issuing the sentence, Judge Patrick J. Schiltz described MOSQUEDA as a serial sexual predator, labeling him “a wolf who pretended to be a shepherd in order to gain access to the sheep.”
This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a national initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension conducted the investigation that led to MOSQUEDA’s conviction, which was prosecuted by Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Lindsey Middlecamp and former Assistant U.S. Attorney Carol M. Kayser.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
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- Nelson Thomas Harner Sentenced to 25 Years for Child Pornography Over Social Media · Minnesota
- 40-Year-Old Chedor TV Sentenced to 20 Years for Producing Child Pornography · Minnesota
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Key Facts
- State: Minnesota
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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