A Chicago man has been sentenced to 45 years in federal prison after admitting to sexually exploiting and receiving child sexual abuse material from at least 14 children he contacted through social media platforms.
According to federal authorities, Armando Torres, 35, used applications such as Snapchat and Instagram during 2019 and 2020 to reach out to young girls, most of whom were under the age of ten. Investigators said Torres created screen names that would appeal to children and often pretended to be a child himself in order to gain their trust. He then provided detailed instructions on how the victims should pose, what language they should use, and how they should record and send explicit images or videos.
Torres pleaded guilty earlier this year to charges related to exploitation and child pornography. U.S. District Judge Steven C. Seeger handed down the sentence on August 11, 2025.
The announcement was made by Andrew S. Boutros, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, along with Douglas S. DePodesta, Special Agent-in-Charge of the FBI’s Chicago Field Office.
“Children are the most vulnerable members of our community,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Caitlin Walgamuth stated in the government’s sentencing memorandum. “Their innocence and trust in others make them defenseless to predators like Torres, who easily manipulated them online. Torres’s sexualization of the victims deprived them of their childhood and inflicted significant trauma on them, as well as their families, that will continue to impact them long after the experience is over.”
This prosecution was part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a national effort designed to address child sexual exploitation by coordinating resources among federal, state, and local agencies while also providing support services for victims.
Individuals who believe they may be victims of sexual exploitation can contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at https://www.missingkids.org/ or call 1-800-843-5678 at any time.
