Fresno man pleads guilty to sexually exploiting children over social media
A Fresno man pleaded guilty to having child sexual abuse material, which he traded online with other adults, prosecutors said Wednesday.
Monico Erich Gastelo, 43, sexually exploited children online as well as received and distributed the obscene material using Snapchat, Telegram and other apps, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
He pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distribution and receipt of child pornography.
Gastelo created a social media account in January 2019 posing as an 18-year-old. He used the account to talk to at least one minor and asked for sexually explicit material, prosecutors said.
“Not only did this defendant re-victimize abused children depicted in the images, but attempted to victimize actual children within his orbit,” Acting U.S. Attorney Michele Beckwith for the Eastern District of California said in a news release.
Gastelo used social media apps to speak and trade images with other adults looking for the obscene material between January and March 2020, prosecutors said.
His phone contained more than 1,500 images and videos of suspected child sexual abuse material, what used to be referred to as “child pornography,” according to investigators.
Gastelo spoke to a minor through Snapchat in May 2020, sending the minor photos of his penis and asking for the minor to send back explicit images, prosecutors said.
He is scheduled to be sentenced on Sept. 8, and faces 15 to 30 years in prison on the exploitation count and five to 20 for the distribution count.
