Northampton County Man Pleads Guilty to Producing, Possessing Child Pornography

PHILADELPHIA - United States Attorney David Metcalf announced that Efrain Baez-Feliciano, 38, of Northampton, Pennsylvania, entered a plea of guilty today 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 defendant was charged by indictment in October of last year, arising from his manufacturing child sexual abuse material ("CSAM") depicting a young girl in his care, on multiple occasions over a period of about nine years, and his possession of CSAM.

The defendant is scheduled to be sentenced on September 24 and faces a maximum possible term of 680 years' imprisonment and a lifetime of supervised release, with a mandatory minimum of 15 years' imprisonment and five years of supervised release. In addition, he faces mandatory financial penalties, and mandatory registration as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act ("SORNA") and Megan's Law.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit projectsafechildhood.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..

The case was investigated by the Northampton Borough Police Department and Homeland Security Investigations ("HSI") and is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Rebecca Kulik.

For more information about HSI's efforts to protect children from sexual predators, visit Know2Protect.govLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link.. To report suspicious activities, call 787-729-6969.