Arlington Heights Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for Receiving Sexually Explicit Images of a Child He Met Online

CHICAGO — An Arlington Heights man was sentenced today to five years in federal prison for receiving sexually explicit images of a ten-year-old girl with whom he communicated online.

In several online conversations in 2014, DANIEL SANTIAGO attempted to persuade the girl to engage in sexually explicit conduct.  Santiago eventually received an image over the internet that depicted the child’s private area.  He then uploaded the image to an online file-sharing application that allowed others to view the image.   

Santiago, 25, pleaded guilty in August to one count of knowingly receiving child pornography.  U.S. District Judge Robert W. Gettleman imposed the sentence in federal court in Chicago.

“The evidence shows that Santiago actively sought out child pornography,” Special Assistant U.S. Attorney Jared C. Jodrey argued in the government’s sentencing memorandum.  “The images that are the subject of the charges in this case concern a ten-year-old girl whom Santiago exploited.” 

According to his written plea agreement, Santiago used the file-sharing application to store, access and share other images of child pornography.  He amassed a collection of approximately 2,210 pictures and 25 videos, the plea agreement states.  Santiago admitted that his collection included images of prepubescent minors, as well as sadistic and masochistic conduct, according to the plea agreement.

The sentence was announced by Zachary T. Fardon, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois; and Michael J. Anderson, Special Agent in Charge of the Chicago Office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

The investigation was conducted by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force.  The CETF is part of a nationwide effort known as the Innocence Lost National Initiative targeting the commercial sexual exploitation of children in the United States.  In Chicago, the CETF is composed of FBI special agents and investigators from the Chicago Police Department, the Cook County Sheriff’s Office, and the Cook County State’s Attorney’s Office.

The government is represented by Mr. Jodrey.