News Releases

Guatemalan national pleads guilty to possession and distribution of child pornography

MIAMI - Fabian Andres Maselli-Paiz, 24, pleaded guilty Wednesday to a two-count indictment that charged him with distribution of child pornography following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Miami.

If convicted, Maselli-Paiz faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to a maximum of 20 years in prison on count one and a maximum of 10 years in prison on count two. Sentencing is scheduled for Oct. 27 before U.S. District Judge Marcia G. Cooke.

Maselli-Paiz, a Guatemalan national, was in the United States on a student visa and was attending flight training school at "ADF Airways Academy" in Kendall, Fla. He was identified by ICE special agents conducting an undercover Internet enforcement operation targeting persons using peer-to-peer networks to traffic in child pornography.

From about April 24 through June, he used the peer-to- peer file sharing program "Limewire" to download and distribute videos of child pornography. An ICE forensic examination of the defendant's computer recovered over 39 videos of child pornography.

The investigation that led to this case was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to identify, investigate and arrest those who prey on children, including human traffickers, international sex tourists, Internet pornographers, and foreign-national predators whose crimes make them deportable. Launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 12,800 individuals through Operation Predator.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.