WASHINGTON D.C. – Franklin Jovany Torres, 42, already serving a lengthy prison sentence for horrific crimes against a child, will spend another 16 months behind bars after being sentenced November 5 for terrorizing the mother of his teenage victim. U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro announced the additional penalty, stemming from a series of chilling death threats mailed from federal prison.
Torres pleaded guilty August 27 before U.S. District Judge Colleen Kollar-Kotelly to one count of mailing threatening communications. The 16-month sentence will run consecutively to the existing 21-year term handed down in 2015. Once his sentences are complete, Torres will be deported to his native El Salvador, a small consolation for the trauma he inflicted.
The FBI, led by Special Agent in Charge Darren B. Cox of the Washington Field Office, investigated the case. The threats originated from a handwritten letter sent July 2, 2015, from a Federal Corrections Institute in South Carolina. The letter, written in Spanish, was a venomous promise of future violence, explicitly targeting the victim’s mother and her entire family. “I’m going to get out one day, and when that day comes is when you are going to shed tears of blood because that day I’m going to get rid of your whole family – cousins, nephews and nieces, granmother, children – even the dog at your home I’ll get rid of,” Torres wrote.
The disturbing chain of events began in 2015 when the victim’s mother discovered a disturbing image on Torres’ Facebook page – a naked photo of a child with the face obscured. The mother quickly realized the child was her son. Torres had taken the photo during an incident of first-degree sexual abuse. The victim’s parents had extended hospitality to Torres, allowing him to stay in their Northwest Washington D.C. apartment after he lost his job. The trust was brutally betrayed.
The mother and son finally reported the abuse to police several months after Torres moved out. Following a jury trial on March 11, 2015, Torres was convicted in the District of producing child pornography, distributing child pornography, possessing child pornography, and first degree sexual abuse of a minor, resulting in the initial 252-month (21-year) prison sentence. The subsequent threats only deepened the pain and fear for the victim and his family.
Assistant U.S. Attorney James B. Nelson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia prosecuted the case. This matter, while occurring in 2015, was not publicly released at the time due to a government shutdown. The press release was posted following the resumption of normal government operations. Case number: 20cr268. The Grimy Times will continue to follow this case and report on any further developments.
RELATED: Madras Sex Offender Sentenced for Child Enticement Attempt
RELATED: Repeat Offender Torres-Torres Gets Time-Served, Deported
Related Federal Cases
- Convicted Sex Offender Torres Sentenced to 16 More Months for Threatening Victim’s Mother · South Carolina
- MD Man Gets 10 Years For Online Child Exploitation · Maryland
- DC Predator Gets 10 Years for Sickening Abuse · Washington
- D.C. Man Gets 12 Years for Sexual Abuse of 7-Year-Old · Washington
- Juwaun Evans Gets 8 Years for NW D.C. Sexual Assault · Washington
Key Facts
- State: Washington DC
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: Official Source ↗
🔒 Get the grimiest stories delivered weekly. Subscribe free →
Browse More
MORE FEDERAL CRIME NEWS
Sex CrimesSex CrimesSex CrimesSex Crimes