East Boston Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Offenses

BOSTON – An East Boston man pleaded guilty yesterday to possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Cristopher Vladimir Pineda Martinez, 25, pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns scheduled sentencing for Aug. 14, 2024. Pineda was arrested and charged by criminal complaint in January 2023 and has remained in federal custody since. 

Law enforcement identified Pineda as member of several private large-scale group chats involved in the distribution of CSAM on an online chat platform. On Dec. 12, 2022, Pineda distributed eight videos depicting CSAM in three online chat groups. An additional 54 videos of CSAM, involving children as young as six years old, were found within an application on Pineda’s personal cell phone.

The charge of possession of child pornography provides for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison, at least five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. The charge of distribution of child pornography provides for a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison, a mandatory minimum of five years and up to a lifetime of supervised release and a fine of up to $250,000. Sentences are imposed by a federal district court judge based upon the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and statutes which govern the determination of a sentence in a criminal case.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna J. Nuzum of the Major Crimes Unit is prosecuting the case.

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 the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.