BOSTON, Feb. 14, 2018—A man was sentenced to prison yesterday after admitting that he coerced three Boston-area girls he met online into sending him sexual photographs – the first conviction in Suffolk County for using threats through social media to coerce explicit imagery from a victim, District Attorney Daniel F. Conley said.
HECTOR ACEVEDO (D.O.B. 5/11/90) of Roxbury pleaded guilty yesterday to posing or exhibiting a child in a state of nudity or sexual conduct; possession of child pornography; distributing child pornography; and distributing obscene matter to a minor. Acevedo also pleaded guilty to attempted extortion and human trafficking of a minor, reflecting the use of threats to coerce the underage victims into providing him with nude photos.
“This defendant threatened to kill these girls’ families if they didn’t comply with his demands,” Conley said. “They were targeted and exploited in their very own homes by an online assailant who put them in terrible fear. I want to thank the prosecutors, police detectives, and federal agents who built this case with such sensitivity for the young victims, and I want to commend the victims themselves, who played a critical role in protecting other children from the defendant.”
Judge Robert Tochka sentenced Acevedo to a term of five to seven years in state prison followed by three years of probation. During that time, Acevedo will be subject to GPS monitoring and random checks of any computers, electronic devices, or phones by the Department of Probation. He was additionally ordered not to reside with or have unsupervised contact with anyone under age 18; to have no employment or volunteer work that would put him in contact with anyone under age 18; and not to loiter within 300 feet of any daycare, school, playground, library, or other location where children regularly congregate. He must also register as a sex offender.
Had the case proceeded to trial, Assistant District Attorney Maryrose Anthes, chief of the DA’s Human Trafficking and Exploitation Unit, would have presented evidence and testimony to prove that the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children received a cybertip reporting an Instagram user posting child pornography in June 2014. During the course of their investigation, Boston Police and members of the FBI Boston Human Trafficking and Child Exploitation Task Force identified the 12-year-old victim in the photograph. This 12-year-old reported that the Instagram user sent her explicit images and that she had sent him nude photos of herself after he threatened to kill her family if she failed to send the images.
Anthes would also have presented evidence that Acevedo sent an 11-year-old girl explicit photos, that he solicited nude photos from her, and that he threatened to harm her family if she didn’t send additional nude images. Finally, Anthes would have introduced testimony showing that Acevedo solicited nude photos from another 12-year-old girl during the summer of 2014.
Investigators obtained the subscriber information linked to the internet protocol address utilized in each of the cases. Anthes would have proven that this information led to Acevedo. Boston Police executed a search warrant at Acevedo’s home and on his phone, recovering videos and images depicting child pornography.
Before Acevedo was sentenced, Anthes read aloud an impact statement written by one of the victims, now age 16.
“I am constantly thinking about how this will affect me as a student, daughter, an older sister and in my future,” the victim wrote. “This has changed me in a way where I felt like I lost a part of myself during this journey.”
Conley asked parents and caregivers to talk to kids about online safety and the pressures they may face, whether through social media, messenger apps, gaming systems like Xbox or PlayStation, or elsewhere.
“All too often, cases like this one go unreported because young victims are embarrassed or afraid of being punished,” Conley said. “It’s important they know they can talk to us about anything, especially things that might make them afraid or uncomfortable. We want kids to know that they won’t get in trouble for telling the truth, and that caring adults are here to help them avoid dangerous situations, both online and off.”
Conley’s office offers online safety programs for kids, parents, and professionals who work with youth in an effort to help kids stay safe online. For more information or to request a program presentation at your school or organization, visit http://www.suffolkdistrictattorney.com/cyberpeace-for-kids-parents-professionals/.
Sarah McIsaac is the DA’s assigned victim-witness advocate. Acevedo was represented by Frank Santisi.
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All defendants are presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
