Efrain Baez-Feliciano, 38, of Northampton, Pennsylvania, pleaded guilty on June 1 before United States District Judge Jeffrey L. Schmehl to 22 counts of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. The announcement was made by United States Attorney David Metcalf.
Baez-Feliciano was charged by indictment in October of last year for manufacturing child sexual abuse material depicting a young girl in his care over approximately nine years and for possessing such material. He is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24 and faces a maximum possible term of 680 years’ imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release. The mandatory minimum sentence is 15 years’ imprisonment with five years of supervised release. Additional penalties include mandatory financial penalties and registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act and Megan’s Law.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood coordinates efforts among federal, state, and local agencies to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children online as well as identify victims.
The investigation was conducted by the Northampton Borough Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Kulik is prosecuting the case.
For more information about Project Safe Childhood or Homeland Security Investigations’ efforts against child exploitation or to report suspicious activities, authorities encourage visiting projectsafechildhood.gov or Know2Protect.gov.
