Waterbury, CT Resident Sentenced For Possession of Child Pornography

PITTSBURGH, PA- A former resident of Canonsburg, Pennsylvania, was sentenced in federal court to possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Eric G. Olshan announced today.

Kevin Francisco Torres-Gerena, 29, of Waterbury, Connecticut was sentenced to four years imprisonment, and ten years supervised release before United States District Judge Nora Barry Fischer.

The Court was advised that investigators identified Torres-Gerena on a peer-to-peer network where offenders, like Torres-Gerena, could access and share child sexual abuse material (commonly referred to as “child pornography”). The court was further informed that law enforcement officials executed a federal search warrant at Torres-Gerena’s residence on September 5, 2018, and later uncovered 116 videos, ranging from 1 minute and 10 seconds to 9 minutes and 37 seconds, and 36 images depicting the sexual exploitation of minors, many of which involved children under the age of twelve. Torres-Gerena informed investigators that he would view the images/videos and then delete them but use the same search terms in subsequent searches to conceal his activity.

Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca L. Silinski is prosecuted this case on behalf of the government.

Homeland Security Investigations, with the assistance of the Federal Bureau of Investigations San Antonio Field Office, the North Strabane Police Department and the Canonsburg Police Department, conducted the investigation leading to the prosecution of Torres-Gerena.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.