Hartford Man Admits Producing Child Pornography

Deirdre M. Daly, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ELIEZER MALDONADO, 25, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to one count of production of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, on June 8, 2012, Homeland Security Investigations and Hartford Police conducting a child exploitation investigation executed a state search warrant at MALDONADO’s residence.  On that date, MALDONADO admitted that on multiple occasions he had engaged in sexual acts with a minor victim who was under the age of 12.  He also admitted that he had used a smartphone to take several photographs of the minor victim engaged in sexually explicit poses, and then posted the images to an online file-sharing service, and had traded additional images of child pornography with others via email and online storage accounts.

Investigators seized MALDONADO’s smartphone.  Subsequent forensic examination of the device revealed eight images of the minor victim engaged in sexually explicit conduct.  Examination of MALDONADO’s email and online storage accounts also revealed approximately 5,500 images and 267 videos of child pornography.  The vast majority of these images and videos depicted prepubescent children under the age of 12.

Judge Underhill has scheduled sentencing for October 8, 2013, at which time MALDONADO faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.

MALDONADO has been detained since his arrest on June 8, 2012.

This case is being investigated by ICE Homeland Security Investigations in Hartford, with the assistance of ICE HSI in Philadelphia, the Connecticut State Police and the Hartford Police Department.  The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Sarala V. Nagala and Anastasia E. King.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.

PUBLIC AFFAIRS CONTACT:

U.S. ATTORNEY'S OFFICE
Tom Carson
(203) 821-3722
thomas.carson@usdoj.gov