Man sentenced for producing child pornography

Scott C. Blader, United States attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, announced that Gerardo Junior Torres, 24, of Chicago, Ill., was sentenced by U.S. District Judge William M. Conley to 20 years in prison for producing child pornography. This term of imprisonment will be followed by 30 years of supervised release. Torres pleaded guilty to this charge on November 5.

On April 4, 2020, a citizen in Taylor County reported that a 15-year-old family member had been sexually assaulted by Torres. Numerous electronic items belonging to Torres were turned over to law enforcement at that time. Officers obtained and executed a search warrant for the defendant’s electronic devices where they found numerous images and videos of the defendant sexually assaulting both the citizen’s family member and another 7-year-old child.

Judge Conley stated that the lengthy sentence was warranted due to the defendant’s manipulation of the two victims and the severity of the repeated assaults on them. Additionally, Judge Conley expressed concern that the defendant did not grasp the seriousness of his behavior or the damage he caused the victims. Judge Conley expressed hope that now knowing the pain he caused would be motivation for the defendant to never engage in his “dark and ugly” acts again.

The charge against Torres was the result of an investigation conducted by the Taylor County Sheriff’s Offi ce, Ladysmith Police Department, and the Wisconsin Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation.