On Wednesday, December 18th, law enforcement officials served a search warrant at the Hartford residence of Roberto Acosta-Torres. As a part of that warrant, a Sony camcorder and two USB thumb drives were taken.
After a preliminary analysis of the thumb drives, Acosta-Torres appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson later that same day and was charged with production of child pornography and possession of child pornography.
The thumb drives are reported to have contained hundreds of videos of child pornography and at least two of the files showed Acosta-Torres himself, sexually abusing a minor victim.
Her has been ordered to be held until his detention hearing which is scheduled for December 23rd.
According to the statement issued by the Department of Justice, "the charge of production of child pornography carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of 15 years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 30 years. The charge of possession of child pornography carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years."
This arrest is part of the Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood. The case is being investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) and the Hartford and Manchester Police Departments.
The prosecutor in this matter is Assistant U.S. Attorney Nancy V. Gifford.