Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, today announced that YEHUDI MANZANO, 37, of Waterbury, pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Stefan R. Underhill in Bridgeport to a child exploitation offense.
According to court documents and statements made in court, on August 21, 2016, Manzano used his cell phone to record a video of himself engaging in sexual intercourse with a 15-year-old girl, and then uploaded the video to his Google Photos account.
Manzano was arrested on related state charges on November 10, 2016, and charged federally by indictment on May 3, 2018. Today, he pleaded guilty to one count of transportation of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years. Judge Underhill scheduled sentencing for May 25.
Manzano is released on a $300,000 bond pending sentencing.
This matter has been investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Waterbury Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Neeraj N. Patel and Nancy V. Gifford.
U.S. Attorney Boyle thanked the State’s Attorney’s Office for the Judicial District of Waterbury for its close cooperation in investigating and prosecuting this matter.
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.