A Bronx man, Daniel Batista, has been sentenced to 18 years in prison for crimes involving the sexual exploitation of a minor and the possession of child pornography. This sentence was handed down following a guilty plea that Batista entered on July 9, his legal reckoning overseen by U.S. District Judge Jesse M. Furman. The announcement came through a statement from the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, Jay Clayton, that was obtained by the U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of New York.
Within the statement, Clayton makes it clear that Batista's manipulative actions extended way beyond mere possession – he paid a mother over $1,000 to produce and send him child pornography of her daughter. He then endeavored to use those images to try to convince other parents to similarly exploit their own children. "Today, the victims, families, and all New Yorkers get justice," U.S. Attorney Jay Clayton stated. "Batista’s sentence reflects the seriousness of his crimes and our commitment to combat child sexual exploitation," as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Detailed in the court documents are a series of transgressions that underscore the heinous nature of Batista's offences. While already on probation for a prior sexual offence committed against a minor, Batista was found with over a dozen deleted videos and images of child pornography on his cellphone by his probation officers in February 2024. Voice messages on the device also revealed that he communicated directly with the minor, known in court documents as Minor Victim-1, goading her into creating explicit videos and images of herself.
In his past, Batista, 57, was convicted for forcibly touching a 14-year-old girl on a bus under New York penal law. The sentences from Judge Furman also include 10 years of supervised release after Batista completes his prison term. The successful wrap-up of this case is attributed by Mr. Clayton to the extensive investigative efforts of the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph H. Rosenberg led the prosecution for this case.
