East Boston Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Child Pornography Offenses

BOSTON - An East Boston man was sentenced yesterday for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).

Cristopher Vladimir Pineda Martinez, 25, was sentenced by U.S. District Judge Richard G. Stearns to five years in prison and five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution. In May 2024, Pineda pleaded guilty to one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of child pornography.

Law enforcement identified Pineda as member of several private large-scale group chats involved in the distribution of CSAM on an online chat platform. On Dec. 12, 2022, Pineda distributed eight videos depicting CSAM in three online chat groups on that platform. An additional 54 videos of CSAM, involving children as young as six years old, were found within the chat platform's application on Pineda's personal cell phone.

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England made the announcement today. Valuable assistance was provided by the United States Postal Inspection Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Enforcement and Removal Operations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elianna J. Nuzum of the Major Crimes Unit prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the DOJ's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.