Leonard C. Boyle, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ROBERTO ACOSTA TORRES, 61, of Hartford, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to producing child pornography.
According to court documents and statements made in court, between April 2016 and February 2019, Acosta Torres coerced a minor to engage in sexually explicit conduct with him and videorecorded the sexual abuse. On December 18, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Acosta’s Hartford residence and seized numerous electronic and storage devices. Analysis of the seized items revealed at least 18 videos of Acosta Torres sexually abusing the minor victim, and hundreds of videos of other adults and children engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
Judge Arterton scheduled sentencing for November 9, 2021, at which time Acosta Torres faces a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years.
Acosta Torres has been detained since his arrest on December 18, 2019.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Hartford and Manchester Police Departments, and the Connecticut Center for Digital Investigations (CDI). The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.
This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.
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