Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Sexual Exploitation of a Child

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Dakota Jeremiah Pevino, aka Dakota Jeremiah Viggiano, 36, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty today to sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, in July 2022, Pevino took a color photograph of a prepubescent minor victim posed in a sexually suggestive manner without any pants or underwear, with Pevino’s private parts visible in the in the foreground of the photograph. Pevino later knowingly sent this photograph to another person using the internet and an encrypted messaging application. In November of 2022, Pevino took another color photograph of the prepubescent minor victim posed in a sexually suggestive manner with the minor victim’s pants and underwear pulled down.

Additionally, Pevino sent video recordings of adult males sexually abusing prepubescent minors to another user on the Telegram application. Those video recordings accompanied chats of a sexual nature regarding minors.

This case is the product of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force/Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case.

Pevino is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge John A. Mendez on Jan. 7, 2025. Pevino faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison up to a maximum of 30 years in prison, a lifetime of supervised release, restitution, and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

The FBI is seeking to identify potential victims of Pevino. If you believe that you and/or your minor dependent(s) were victimized by Pevino at any time or have information relevant to this investigation, please send an email with your name, contact information, and best time to reach you to Pevinovictims@fbi.gov.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about internet-safety education.