Mexican national gets 121-month sentence for child exploitation in Mississippi
ABERDEEN, Miss. — A Mexican national living illegally in the United States has been sentenced to more than 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to distributing and receiving child sexual abuse material, federal officials said.
Adolfo Raul Vasquez-Santana, 32, of Southaven, was sentenced to 121 months in prison by Senior U.S. District Judge Sharion Aycock and was ordered to serve five years of supervised release and pay $14,000 in restitution to victims, officials said.
According to court documents, Vasquez-Santana downloaded and shared violent videos depicting the sexual abuse of children through Facebook Messenger. The investigation began after the Southaven Police Department received a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, and Homeland Security Investigations later determined he was in the country illegally and pursued federal charges. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement has placed an immigration detainer on Vasquez-Santana; officials said he is expected to be removed from the United States after serving his sentence.
“Child pornography is a plague,” Scott F. Leary, U.S. attorney for the Northern District of Mississippi, said in a statement, adding that children are harmed both by production of obscene material and its continued distribution. Leary praised the work of Southaven police, Homeland Security Investigations and Assistant U.S. Attorney Julie Addison, who prosecuted the case. Matt Wright, acting special agent in charge for HSI New Orleans, said investigators acted quickly and that HSI remains committed to protecting children from predators who use technology to exploit them.
Federal officials said the case was part of Operation Take Back America and Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative aimed at combating online child sexual exploitation. This is a developing story and will be updated as more details emerge.
