Leonard C Boyle, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Matthew B. Millhollin, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Boston, today announced that ALEXANDER DILELLA, 22, of Stratford, was arrested today on a federal criminal complaint charging him with multiple child exploitation offenses.
Dilella appeared today before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and is detained pending the completion of his detention hearing, which was continued until May 6.
As alleged in court documents, Dilella has used various online applications, including Snapchat, Omegle and FaceTime, to communicate with minor girls, some as young as 13 or 14 years old, and entice them to engage in illegal sexual activity. During one Snapchat exchange with a 14-year-old victim, Dilella referred to the girl as a “child porn slave” and demanded that she send him a sexually explicit image of herself, which she did.
It is further alleged that, on May 24, 2021, investigators seized Dilella’s iPhone. Analysis of the phone revealed videos of prepubescent children being sexually abused.
The complaint charges Dilella with enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 10 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of life; receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years.
U.S. Attorney Boyle stressed that a criminal complaint is not evidence of guilt. Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
This matter is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), with the assistance of the Stratford and Milford Police Departments. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Angel M. Krull.
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.