Level 3 Registered Sex Offender Sentenced to Over 17 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting 11-Year-Old Via Snapchat

BOSTON – A Lowell man was sentenced yesterday in federal court in Boston for extorting a minor to send him sexually explicit photos over Snapchat. 

Chayanne Nieves, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 210 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release. In June 2022, Nieves pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.

During a period of four days in November and December 2020, Nieves communicated on Snapchat with an 11-year-old child in Vermont. During those communications, Nieves obtained nude photographs from the victim and then extorted the victim to engage in graphic video chats with him while he masturbated, threatening to post her photographs if she did not comply. The victim’s mother intervened and reported the defendant to local police. During a subsequent search of Nieves’s residence in Lowell, Nieves confirmed that the Snapchat account used to communicate with the child was his. Nieves is a Level 3 registered sex offender based on a 2018 Middlesex Superior Court conviction for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, for which he was on probation when he committed the offense charged in the federal indictment.    

“Mr. Nieves is a danger to our communities. While already on probation for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14, he targeted and exploited an innocent child for his own sexual gratification. This significant sentence ensures that Mr. Nieves is removed from our communities and unable to cause any more harm for the foreseeable future,” said Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy. “The safety of the public, especially our children, is of the utmost importance to this office. We will continue to do all that we can to hold predators like Mr. Nieves responsible and protect our communities from dangers both off- and on-line.”

“Nieves is a convicted sex offender who used social media to continue to harm children, even while on probation. This significant sentence ensures he will be off the streets and unable to prey on children,” said Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge for Homeland Security Investigations in New England. “Sextortion, typically a cyber-enabled crime, causes significant harm. HSI continues to work with our partners around the country and the world to track down predators like Nieves. HSI is committed to ensuring that affected individuals and families know that there is help and a way forward after such a troubling event.”

Acting U.S. Attorney Levy; HSI Acting SAC Krol; and Major Dan Trudeau, Commander of the Vermont State Police’s Criminal Division made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the Lowell Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Charles Dell’Anno and Anne Paruti of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

The case is brought as part of Project Safe Childhood. In 2006, the Department of Justice created Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.