Fresno Man Sentenced to 40 Years in Prison for Child Exploitation Offenses

Monico Erich Gastelo, 44, of Fresno, was sentenced Monday 40 years in prison for sexual exploitation of a child and receipt and distribution of child pornography, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

The sentence will be followed by 15 years of supervised release, during which time Gastelo’s access to children, computers, and the internet will be restricted. He was also ordered to pay $40,000 in monetary penalties, and he will be required to register as a sex offender upon his release from custody.

According to court documents, in January 2019, Gastelo created a social media account in which he pretended to be an 18-year-old boy. Gastelo used the account to converse with younger individuals and request sexually explicit content from them.

Between January and March 2020, Gastelo began communicating on Wickr, Snapchat, and Telegram with other individuals sexually attracted to children. He sent and received multiple images and videos of child sexual abuse material (CSAM) on these platforms. Forensic review of Gastelo’s phones revealed that he had more than 1,500 images and videos of suspected CSAM.

Gastelo’s conduct escalated in May 2020. A minor victim told law enforcement that he had been sexually exploited online and that an individual later identified as Gastelo had added him as a friend on Snapchat. Gastelo sent over a dozen images of his penis to this minor victim and enticed the victim to send back CSAM.

This case was the product of an investigation by the Central California Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the Fresno Police Department, the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney David Gappa and the Justice Department’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney McKenzie Hightower prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.