Note: This post includes explicit language on a criminal case involving child exploitation and sexual abuse.
A San Diego man who posted documents about child sexual assault to an online chatroom was given a nine-year prison sentence on Friday in Washington, D.C.
According to a news release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eduardo Alberto Zelaya Vides also actively encouraged other group members to follow suit while in possession of over 2,000 digital files of child pornography.
On February 7, Zelaya Vides, 31, entered a guilty plea to one count of distributing child pornography in front of Judge Beryl A. Howell of the U.S. District Court.
Along with the prison sentence, Howell mandated that the defendant register as a sex offender, serve 15 years of supervised release, and pay $106,500 in reparations to the 14 children in the pictures he circulated.
Zelaya Vides joined an instant messaging group that functioned as a chatroom to discuss child sexual exploitation and share child pornography, according to court documents.
Members had to actively publish and exchange content in order to get admitted and stay in the community. Zelaya frequently posted videos to the group and urged others to contribute the resources they had gathered.
The U.S. Attorney’s Office in D.C. claims that he begged the organization to upload your young sluts and your sluts on multiple occasions.
An undercover agent from the FBI’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force joined the chat group on March 21, 2024.
At least eight group members, including Zelaya Vides, were seen posting different pictures or videos by the undercover agent. Between March 21 and April 21, 2024, the group shared numerous images of minors acting in a sexually explicit manner.
Zelaya Vides asked the gathering on March 26, 2024, if anyone had yet to employ their daughters. “I want someone who will share them with me,” retorted another participant.
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In a private conversation with Zelaya Vides that same day, the undercover agent learned that the defendant was attempting to spend some alone time with his niece, who is nine years old.
Zelaya Vides was taken into custody by police on May 10, 2024. When FBI officers carried out a search order at the defendant’s residence, they found six digital devices, three of which were pictures and videos showing child sexual abuse.
Zelaya Vides acknowledged taking part in the chatroom during his interview with investigators. Later on, he acknowledged that he knew the pornographic pictures circulated in the group featured children. He also acknowledged that he posted pictures to the chat area.
