Federal authorities say a Dorchester man was caught with a cache of child sexual abuse videos on his phone and is now staring down serious prison time if convicted.
Prosecutors have charged 31-year-old Javier Alberto Baez Infante with receipt of child sexual abuse material after investigators allegedly found roughly 30 videos on his phone depicting minors, including children as young as 2. The arrest happened on May 27, and Baez Infante is due back in federal court on June 5. If the case moves forward, it will play out in U.S. District Court as a federal felony.
According to MassLive, investigators say Baez Infante was part of an online chat group where users downloaded and traded child sexual abuse material. A search of his phone allegedly turned up about 30 videos, and prosecutors say some of those files showed victims as young as 2 years old. He has been charged with a single federal count of receipt of child sex abuse material.
Charges and penalties
The federal charge of receipt of child sexual abuse material is no slap on the wrist. Federal press releases from prosecutors in the District of Massachusetts explain that the statute carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison, along with supervised release and potential fines.
The U.S. Attorney's Office has been bringing similar cases as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort to combat child exploitation crimes. As with any criminal complaint, officials emphasize that the charge is an allegation, and Baez Infante is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty in court.
Local enforcement
The case is the latest in a string of child sexual abuse material prosecutions in Massachusetts this year, many of which have resulted in multi-year prison terms. In one recent example, a Lowell man with 5,000 child sex abuse files was sentenced in March to five years in federal prison after investigators found thousands of illicit files on his phone.
What’s next
Baez Infante is scheduled for an initial appearance in federal court on June 5, where a magistrate judge is expected to take up issues such as detention and scheduling, according to MassLive. Authorities have not yet publicly detailed how the investigation began, and officials are asking anyone with information related to the case to contact federal law enforcement.
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