Leonard C. Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced that ROBERTO ACOSTA TORRES, 61, of Hartford, was sentenced today by U.S. District Judge Janet Bond Arterton in New Haven to 30 years of imprisonment, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for recording his sexual abuse of a child for nearly three years.
According to court documents and statements made in court, over the course of approximately six years, Acosta repeatedly sexually assaulted a minor who was approximately six years old when the sexual assaults began. On December 18, 2019, after the victim’s mother contacted law enforcement, investigators executed a search warrant at Acosta’s Hartford residence and seized numerous electronic and storage devices. Analysis of the seized devices revealed approximately 31 videos of Acosta sexually abusing the minor victim, including 18 videos that were recorded in Connecticut between April 2016 and February 2019. Investigators also seized hundreds of videos of other adults sexually abusing children.
Acosta has been detained since his arrest on December 18, 2019. After his arrest, law enforcement received information that two other children may have been sexually abused by Acosta between 2011 and 2013.
On August 16, 2021, Acosta pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.
This matter was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Hartford and Manchester Police Departments, and the Connecticut Center for Digital Investigations (CDI). The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.
U.S. Attorney Boyle thanked the Hartford State’s Attorney’s Office for its cooperation in the investigation and prosecution of this case.
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.