26-year-old Hartford man charged with sexually exploiting 13-year-old girl: federal authorities

Federal police accused the man of sharing sexually explicit images and videos on a social media site popular with video gamers.

June 26, 2024, 12:06 EDT

HARTFORD, CT — A 26-year-old Hartford man has been charged with sending sexually explicit images and videos to a 13-year-old girl through a social media platform used by video gamers.

Vanessa Roberts Avery, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut, and Robert Fuller, special agent in charge of the FBI’s New Haven Division, said Wednesday that Marvyn Escobar, 26, of Hartford, was charged with child abuse on Tuesday.

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After his arrest, Escobar appeared before U.S. Magistrate Judge Robert A. Richardson in Hartford and was remanded in custody.

According to court documents and statements made in court, an investigation by the FBI’s Child Exploitation Task Force and the Hartford Police Department found that Escobar used the social media platform Discord to engage in sexually explicit communications with a 13-year-old girl.

Avery said Escobar sent sexually explicit images and videos to the underage victim and asked her to send him sexually explicit images of herself, which she then did.

It is alleged that Discord communications between Escobar and the underage victim began on July 19, 2023, federal officials said.

The following day, Escobar was sentenced by a state court to five years in prison (all suspended) and three years probation for endangering children.

This allegation relates to Escobar’s sexual abuse of an underage woman in 2018 and 2019, Avery said.

Federal officials said the indictment accuses Escobar of receiving child pornography – a crime punishable by a minimum of five years and a maximum of 20 years in prison – and of distributing obscene material to minors, a crime punishable by a maximum of 10 years in prison.

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