A Guatemalan national has been charged with child exploitation offenses, according to a joint announcement by Marc H. Silverman, Acting United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, Anish Shukla, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the New Haven Division of the FBI, and West Haven Police Chief Joseph Perno. The individual, Mario Rene Garcia Martinez, also known as “Mario Rene Martinez Garcia,” aged 33, was arrested following allegations related to child exploitation.
Court documents and statements indicate that in February 2024, Garcia Martinez allegedly used his smartphone to record sexually explicit videos and images of a prepubescent minor female while she was asleep in Connecticut.
Garcia Martinez was apprehended in Valley Stream, New York. He appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and has been ordered detained.
The charges against Garcia Martinez include production of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years. He is also charged with possession of child pornography, an offense that could result in up to 20 years imprisonment.
Acting U.S. Attorney Silverman emphasized that "a complaint is only a charge and is not evidence of guilt." He added that charges are merely allegations until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
The investigation is being conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the West Haven Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings is prosecuting the case with assistance from the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Ansonia-Milford.
This prosecution forms part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
To report cases of child exploitation, visit www.cybertipline.com.