Dual United States/Brazilian Citizen Sentenced To 40 Years For Producing And Possessing Child Sexual Abuse Material

Tampa, Florida - U.S. District Judge Thomas P. Barber has sentenced Octavio Nogueira Pessoa (33, Largo) to 40 years in federal prison, followed by a lifetime of supervised release, for the production and possession of child sexual abuse material. Pessoa pleaded guilty on January 27, 2025.

According to court documents, Pessoa produced child sexual abuse material of the 8-year-old daughter of a woman who resided in Brazil. Pessoa directed the woman to sexually abuse the child and to record the explicit conduct using an application that allowed Pessoa to watch the recordings in real-time. During the execution of a search warrant at his home, law enforcement discovered thousands of images and videos of child sexual abuse material on Pessoa's devices.

"This sentence reflects the dedication of HSI personnel to find and bring to justice those who weaponize technology to orchestrate and create child sexual abuse material and make lifelong victims out of vulnerable children," said Homeland Security Investigations Tampa Assistant Special Agent in Charge Kristopher Pagitt. "Justice has been served, and HSI will always have a victim-first approach to our exploitation investigations. We will continue to pursue justice for all victims of these heinous crimes."

This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations. It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Erin Favorit and Courtney Derry.This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. 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 locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.