Fresno man sentenced for sexually exploiting boy he met playing Clash of Clans
A Fresno man was sentenced Friday to 14 years in prison for “sexually exploiting” a boy he met while playing an online video game, the Department of Justice announced.
Emilio Morales, 29, was sentenced for “using the internet to coerce and entice a minor into producing child pornography.”
Morales met the 11-year-old victim while playing Clash of Clans, then proposed that he and the boy communicate privately over the online chatting app Kik Messenger, a news release states.
“While communicating over Kik Messenger, Morales coerced and persuaded the victim to produce and send him sexually explicit images and videos,” the news release states. “The conduct ceased when, despite Morales’s attempts at manipulation, the minor victim refused to participate in any further sexual activity.”
Morales’ prison sentence will be followed by seven years of supervised release.
Investigating, prosecuting the case
The case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office’s Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force and the Prince William County Police Department, with “substantial assistance” from the High Technology Investigative Unit of the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
“Led by U.S. attorneys’ offices and CEOS, 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.”
More information about Project Safe Childhood is available online at justice.gov/psc.
Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia, and Acting Assistant Director in Charge John Selleck of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement about Morales’ sentencing.
This story was originally published May 31, 2019 at 11:43 AM.
