PHILADELPHIA – United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Efrain Baez-Feliciano, 38, of Northampton, Pennsylvania, was sentenced today to 50 years’ imprisonment, lifetime supervised release, and various financial penalties, including $98,500 in restitution to victims, by United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl for manufacturing child pornography, also known as child sexual abuse material (“CSAM”), on multiple occasions over a period of about nine years, and possession of CSAM. In addition, the defendant is also subject to mandatory registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and Megan’s Law.Baez-Feliciano was charged by indictment in October of last year. He pleaded guilty this June to 22 counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.gov.The case was investigated by the Northampton Borough Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations (“HSI”) and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Kulik.For more information about HSI’s efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.gov. To report suspicious activities, call 787-729-6969.
Source: U.S. Department of Justice