A federal grand jury indicted a California man for allegedly coercing six boys to send him sex videos. The Los Angeles-area man is accused of also threatening to publish the photos and videos he already possessed of them if they did not send him more.
Twenty-four-year-old Francisco Javier Soledad of Eastvale, California is facing up to 30 years on just one count of a 17-count indictment filed this past week. The indictment alleges that Soledad victimized six boys during several months in 2016. The boys ranged in ages from 12- to 15-years-of-age and lived in various parts of the country. Soledad interacted with the victims via social media sites. He used the handle “linkinparkrocks” on Snapchat. Authorities have not identified all of the children allegedly victimized in this case.
Court documents state that Soledad threatened to publish the boys’ sexually explicit photos if they did not give him more. According to an official statement from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), he published at least one of the nude photos on Twitter.
According to a statement from ICE, documents filed in federal court allege that Soledad would present himself in various personas, including as a 13-year-old boy and an adult woman.
The indictment sets out six counts for allegedly using the internet to coax a minor to engage in the illegal sexual activity, six counts of producing child pornography, two counts of advertising child pornography, two counts of distributing child pornography, and one count of possessing child pornography on an iPhone.
Special agents from ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) arrested Soledad on March 9 after federal prosecutors filed a criminal complaint against him for allegedly producing child pornography involving a 13-year-old victim. Soledad is scheduled for arraignment on April 12 in federal court in Los Angeles. He is out on a $170,000 bond.
The federal offense of producing child pornography and advertising child pornography carries a mandatory minimum of 15 years, and a maximum sentence of 30 years in federal prison on each count. The criminal offense of enticing a minor carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum sentence of life. The charge of distributing child pornography carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison. The charge of possessing child pornography carries a statutory maximum sentence of 10 years.
Lana Shadwick is a writer and legal analyst for Breitbart Texas. She has served as a prosecutor and associate judge in Texas. Follow her on Twitter @LanaShadwick2.
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.