Man Sentenced for the Sexual Exploitation of Two Children

ALEXANDRIA, Va. - A Mexican national was sentenced today to 22 years in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for production of child pornography.

According to court documents, in March 2018, Abel Ambrocio, 55, of Alexandria, developed an online relationship with a woman in Honduras over a social media platform. From at least October 2018 through at least February 2019, Ambrocio instructed the woman to record and send him over 100 images of herself sexually abusing two children-an approximately three-year-old boy and an approximately ten-year-old girl. Ambrocio instructed the woman to engage in specific sex acts with the children and record herself doing so on multiple occasions, even when she told Ambrocio that one of the children was in pain and crying from the previous sex act. Later, in March 2019, Ambrocio distributed images of the woman sexually abusing the three-year-old boy over a social media platform.

Raj Parekh, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Robert E. Bornstein, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the FBI Washington Field Office Criminal Division; and Kevin Davis, Fairfax County Chief of Police, made the announcement after sentencing by Senior U.S. District Judge Anthony J. Trenga.

Special Assistant U.S. Attorney William G. Clayman and Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan S. Keim prosecuted the case.

This case was investigated by the FBI Washington Field Office's Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force. The task force is composed of FBI agents, along with other federal agents and detectives from northern Virginia and the District of Columbia. The task force is charged with investigating and bringing federal charges against individuals engaged in the exploitation of children and those engaged in human trafficking. Significant assistance in this matter was provided by the Fairfax County Police. Tips regarding child exploitation and human trafficking can be provided to the task force at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.

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 U.S. Attorney's Offices and the 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 www.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release is located on the website of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information are located on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:20-cr-135.