Press Release
Elk Point Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography
For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, District of South Dakota
SIOUX FALLS - United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced today that U.S. District Judge Karen E. Schreier has sentenced an Elk Point, South Dakota, man convicted of Possession of Child Pornography. The sentencing took place on January 30, 2023.
Hector Paulin-Torres, age 34, was sentenced to 2.5 years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release, and a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100.
Paulin-Torres was indicted by a federal grand jury in March of 2022. He pleaded guilty on September 23, 2022.
The conviction stemmed from an incident on September 18, 2021, when Paulin-Torres knowingly possessed digital files that contained child pornography. Paulin-Torres used his cellular phone to save the digital files containing images of a minor female engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, the Elk Point Police Department, and the Vermillion Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeffrey C. Clapper prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. 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.
Paulin-Torres was immediately remanded to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.
Updated February 1, 2023
Topic
Project Safe Childhood
Component