Pressure, manipulation, threats, and even false promises marked the path of a man known as Chato, a hospital employee in Huelva. His stated goal was to obtain candid photos and videos from girls aged between seven and sixteen who he contacted through social networks. Across more than 300 conversations, he pretended to be a boyfriend to some and claimed he was eleven to others. He used assurances about introducing them to his family to gain compliance, while threatening those who resisted with violence toward their loved ones or with the publication of material they had previously sent him.
Following a campaign of harassment and the storage of sexual or intimate material involving at least 96 minors on social networks, the Malaga Provincial Court sentenced him to three years in prison for repeatedly possessing and producing child pornography. The sentence was reduced to reflect efforts toward repairing the harm caused and considerations of mental health factors.
He also received a restraining order protecting minors and is alleged to have used several aliases, including Flequi, Rana, Zapatones, and Casposo, as he described himself in different online personas while running a program that claimed to be a “sexual education course with impulse control.”
According to the court’s account, the girls were drawn into acts through pressure or deception, sending images and engaging in video calls that were recorded and stored on a mobile device kept at the suspect’s home. Police reports note that, even after intercepting his daily-use device, investigators initially found nothing, and it took over a year for authorities to locate the pornographic material following a home search.
Approximately twenty minors identified by their parents
The sentence explains that it is possible to identify minors through 311 distinct profiles appearing among the images found on the phone, with 96 of these profiles containing sexual material. Some images show only nudity or private parts, while others depict explicit touching or the exposure of private areas and objects.
Among the cases cited in the ruling, a mother described recognizing photographs of her daughter and her house. She testified that after numerous threats, her daughter sent a photo of herself in pajamas and underwear. The perpetrator allegedly warned that he would harm the family if additional orders were not fulfilled.
The first signs of Chato’s activities emerged on May 25, 2018, when a mother informed the Civil Guard that a man had contacted her nine-year-old daughter, professed interest in being her boyfriend, and asked for photos. The harassment and recording of minors continued at least until a break-in and search of his home on November 13, 2019, after which it took another year to uncover the child pornography materials.
Intellectual disability as a mitigating factor
After initial seizures of devices and computer materials, Chato was temporarily released and was not arrested again until more than a year later at the hospital where he worked in Huelva.
The Malaga Provincial Court adjusted the sentence by considering a recognized disability of 36 percent and a 29 percent activity limitation, with borderline intelligence, as mitigating factors.
Following the agreement, it appears unlikely that the defendant will serve a traditional prison term; he is expected to be placed on probation for three years, during which he will be prohibited from working with minors. Additionally, Chato is ordered to compensate six complainants with a total of 9,000 euros, including 1,500 euros to each of the six victims, as part of the reparations.