A Florida man who produced dozens of videos of child pornography and sent them over the Internet was sentenced to 80 years in federal prison Friday, authorities said.
Benjamin Cuadrado, 40, had pleaded guilty in January to producing and transporting child pornography, following his arrest at his Lakeland home last March, according to a news release from U.S. Immigration and Customs.
According to court documents, Cuadrado coerced an infant and a toddler to engage in sexually explicit conduct and produced at least 70 videos, which were sent over the Internet. Authorities found 250 videos and more than 4,000 images of child pornography on Cuadrado's cell phone, authorities said.
"The sentence handed down in the case against Mr. Cuadrado brings to an end one of the most disturbing child exploitation cases in the history of our office," said Alysa Erichs, special agent in charge of Homeland Security Investigations Miami. "This also sends a message to those who take advantage of the innocence of our children, that we will find you and prosecute you to the fullest extent of the law."
Cuadrado was arrested after a massive investigation by ICE, HSI offices in Tampa, Miami, Boston and Springfield, Massachusetts, the U.S. Secret Service, the Miami Beach Police Department, Polk County Sheriff's Office, Lakeland Police Department and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
