A 51-year-old registered sex offender from Fall River has been slapped with a hefty 15-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to child pornography charges. Angel Figueroa was also condemned to five additional years of supervised release once he exits prison, said U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani during sentencing in federal court in Boston.
Federal prosecutors had enough evidence to link Figueroa to multiple messaging apps where a vast cache of illegal content was being shared. An in-depth forensic analysis of his cell phone recovered disturbing material, including roughly 523 images and 72 videos featuring children in abusive situations, some as young as infants. One particularly shocking image showed a child less than two years of age in a bondage scenario. To further blacken his reputation, Figueroa had previously been to quickly been convicted for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 back in 2013, according to information obtained by the U.S. Justice Department.
The apprehension and subsequent prosecution of Figueroa was part of Project Safe Childhood—a DOJ initiative determined to stamp out the ever-increasing scourge of child sexual exploitation. Created in May 2006, the initiative has been vigorously active, harnessing resources at the federal, state, and local levels to put offenders behind bars and rescue the innocent victims.
The announcement of Figueroa's sentencing was publicized by Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy alongside Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England, and Fall River Chief of Police Paul Gauvin. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Soto, Meghan C. Cleary of the Major Crimes Unit, and J. Mackenzie Duane of the Criminal Division were the lead prosecutors in this unsettling case.
For those seeking more information on how the government is tackling crimes against children, details can be found at the Project Safe Childhood’s website. As part of their ongoing efforts, the program's aim is to effectively locate, apprehend and prosecute those who to mercilessly exploit children and to also identify and rescue victims.
