A Davenport man has been indicted on charges of possessing child sexual abuse material, according to an announcement from United States Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe. Mauricio Flores, 36, faces up to 20 years in federal prison if convicted.
The indictment alleges that Flores used a cellphone to possess the illegal material. Authorities have notified him that they intend to forfeit the device as part of the case.
Court documents indicate that law enforcement executed a search warrant at Flores’s residence after investigating activity on a dark web site focused on child sexual abuse material. During the search, investigators seized devices and found files containing illicit content on a cellphone.
“An indictment is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed one or more violations of federal criminal law, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.”
The Federal Bureau of Investigation led the investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Muriel Moore will prosecute the case.
“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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.”
