Previously registered Fall River offender sentenced to prison over hundreds of images depicting children as young as infants

BOSTON – A registered sex offender was sentenced Friday in federal court in Boston for receiving and possessing child sexual abuse material via multiple groups on a messaging app.

According to the Massachusetts Department of Justice, 51-year-old Angel Figueroa of Fall River, was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Indira Talwani to 15 years in prison and five years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay restitution to several victims. In October 2023, Figueroa pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography.

Figueroa was identified as an active member of at least four messaging applications where CSAM was being disseminated. A forensic examination of Figueroa’s cell phone revealed approximately 523 images and 72 videos of CSAM depicting children as young as infants. At least one image depicted bondage of a child younger than two years old. Figueroa admitted that he downloaded, saved, and viewed CSAM using apps on his cell phone and had been doing so for one or two years. Figueroa is a registered sex offender based upon a 2013 Massachusetts state court conviction for indecent assault and battery on a child under 14 years old. 

Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, in New England; and Fall River Chief of Police Paul Gauvin made the announcement. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Jessica Soto and Meghan C. Cleary of the Major Crimes Unit and J. Mackenzie Duane of the Criminal Division prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by the U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.