BOSTON — An East Boston man was sentenced Aug. 13 for possessing and distributing child sexual abuse material after a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) New England online investigation found he distributed the material.
Cristopher Vladimir Pineda Martinez, 25, was sentenced 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.
HSI special agents identified Pineda as member of several private large-scale group chats involved in the distribution of child sexual abuse material on an online chat platform. On Dec. 12, 2022, Pineda distributed eight videos depicting child sexual abuse in three online chat groups on that platform. HSI special agents found an additional 54 videos of child sexual abuse, involving children as young as six years old, within the chat platform’s application on Pineda’s personal cellphone during forensic analysis.
HSI New England Special Agent in Charge Michael J. Krol and acting U.S. Attorney Joshua S. Levy made the announcement Aug. 16. The case was investigated by HSI Boston’s Child Exploitation and Forensics group. Valuable assistance was provided by the U.S. Postal Inspection Service and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Enforcement and Removal Operations directorate.
HSI is a global leader in the fight against child exploitation. Last year, HSI special agents dedicated 1.2 million case hours toward investigating child exploitation. This heinous crime harms the most vulnerable in our society: our kids. As technology evolves and more people have access to the internet, children are at a greater risk than ever. HSI’s special agents and analysts around the world are dedicated to countering this threat.
Report suspected child exploitation to the HSI Tip Line at 877-4-HSI-TIP or through the CyberTipline on the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children's website.