Niagara Falls Man Going to Prison for Attempted Receipt of Child Pornography

BUFFALO, N.Y.-U.S. Attorney Trini E. Ross announced today that Pedro Melendez, 28, of Niagara Falls, NY, who was convicted of attempted receipt of child pornography, was sentenced to serve 96 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin M. Higgins, who handled the case, stated that in July 2021, Melendez engaged in sexually explicit communications with an 11-year-old minor victim residing in Connecticut, via several email and PlayStation accounts and applications. Melendez specifically asked the minor victim if she was 11 years old, which she confirmed, and he continued to engage in sexually explicit conversations. During these conversations, Melendez repeatedly asked the minor victim to send him sexually explicit images of herself, while sending the minor victim naked images of himself. Melendez also said that he wished he lived near the minor victim so that he could be her "teacher" and her "training partner." In addition, Melendez told the minor victim to delete her messages saying "[t]hen ya might show people then I'm a pedophile," and "[o]nly because your [sic] young enough to be my kid."

The sentencing is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Matthew Miraglia.

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