Miami man convicted of child porn arrested again after judge delayed start of prison term

Jay Weaver
·4 min read

A Miami man was sentenced to about six years in prison last November for receiving nude images from a 14-year-old girl and then sending them to her mother’s social media account after the online “girlfriend” broke up with him.

But rather than put 22-year-old Edel Gutierrez in prison right away, U.S. District Judge Kathleen Williams allowed the convicted child pornographer to surrender on March 26 and then extended that deadline to June 15. The judge cited the heightened risk of contracting COVID-19 behind bars that was raised by his lawyer, though prosecutors opposed extending the surrender date.

Now, Gutierrez — formerly free on a $10,000 bond — is under arrest again, suspected of contacting an underage girl in an internet chat room as he faced the start of his prison term, according to Homeland Security Investigations. He was back in federal magistrate court Tuesday, facing allegations that he violated the conditions of his bond by using a computer or cellphone to contact a minor under 18 on the internet. Gutierrez is barred from accessing the internet on any electronic devices or contacting underage girls.

A spokeswoman for the U.S. Attorney’s Office declined to comment on whether prosecutors will seek new child-exploitation charges against Gutierrez. His lawyer with the Federal Public Defender’s Office, Adebunmi Lomax, did not respond to a request for comment.

The fact that Gutierrez was granted such a low bond while his lawyer negotiated a plea deal to receiving images of child pornography is unusual in itself. But what makes his case even more extraordinary is that after he pleaded guilty and was sentenced, the federal judge postponed his surrender to prison because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the threat of catching the virus.

Since the pandemic began in March 2020, there have been dozens of internet child-porn cases filed in South Florida. Defendants accused of such crimes rarely obtain a bond, let alone a postponement of their imprisonment after pleading guilty to receiving, possessing or distributing images of underage nudity or sexual activity, court records show.

According to a “factual” statement filed with Gutierrez’s plea agreement last September, New York authorities tipped off Miami law enforcement officials in August 2019 about a “target who was enticing minors to produce pornography online and then sextorting said minors with the images after they were sent to him.”

The target was identified as Gutierrez, who was 21 at the time.

New York authorities said that a 14-year-old girl had sent nude photos of herself to Gutierrez on her cellphone through the internet. She and her mother reported that Gutierrez — the minor’s online “boyfriend’ — then sent the naked pictures to the mother’s social media account, according to his plea deal statement. The girl had ended their online relationship, and Gutierrez suspected her of dating someone else.

Investigators in Miami received permission to take over the girl’s online profile and posed as a “friend” of hers. Then, an undercover agent developed an online rapport with Gutierrez. In turn, Gutierrez tried to develop an online sexual relationship with the undercover agent, who was posing as a 14-year-old, investigators said.

During their chat room conversations, Gutierrez confirmed his social media accounts, his prior relationship with the underage girl in New York and other key information, according to the plea deal statement.

“Gutierrez had sexually explicit calls with the [undercover agent], during which time he told the [purported] minor that he hoped to meet her in person and have sex,” the statement says. “Gutierrez sent the minor [undercover agent] photographs of his penis, and repeatedly asked her to send nude photographs and videos of herself to him.”

In October 2019, investigators arrested Gutierrez and searched his Miami home for electronic devices. A review of his devices showed that he engaged in online relationships with at least eight minor females under 18, some of whom sent nude photos and videos of themselves to him, according to the statement. Some were saved on his electronic devices, investigators said.

After he was read his Miranda rights, Gutierrez admitted that he had an online sexual relationship with the 14-year-old girl in New York and that he had sent nude photos of himself to her and received naked pictures of her. Gutierrez also told investigators that he currently had an online sexual relationship with a 16-year-old girl.

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