Dallas man who filmed himself sexually abusing 5-year-old gets 30-year prison sentence
DALLAS - A Dallas man who filmed himself sexually abusing a 5-year-old girl will serve 30 years in federal prison.
Michael Angelo Vasquez, 27, was initially charged in 2020 before he pleaded guilty in 2021 to production of child pornography. He was sentenced Wednesday to the statutory maximum penalty.
Court documents say an investigation began after Vasquez’s then-girlfriend thought he was having an affair with another woman and searched through his phone. Instead, authorities say she found images of Vasquez sexually assaulting a 5-year-old girl. She immediately contacted the police.
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Investigators got a search warrant for Vasquez’s phone and found the video the girlfriend described and thumbnails from other videos depicting child sexual abuse.
Vasquez admitted that he filmed at least four videos of himself sexually abusing the child and later shared the video online.
Authorities connected the child with the Dallas Children’s Advocacy Center, which provides resources for abused children.
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"While the lengthy sentence this defendant received is clearly justified, the emotional and physical abuse of the innocent child he victimized is likely to linger indefinitely," said Jesse Woods, Assistant Special Agent in Charge Homeland Security Investigations Dallas. "I’m proud of the work of our criminal analysts, special agents and law enforcement partners who helped end the deviant behavior of this defendant before he could harm another child. Even more important is the courage displayed by Mr. Vasquez’s then-girlfriend to report him to law enforcement when she discovered the child sexual abuse materials on his electronic devices."
Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas Field Office and the Dallas Police Department conducted the investigation.