A Cumberland man has been sentenced to more than six years in federal prison for cyberstalking and distributing child sexual abuse material, according to an announcement from Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Melvin Vidal Herrera Perez, 21, received a sentence of 78 months in prison and 10 years of supervised release from U.S. District Court Judge Mary S. McElroy. He was also ordered to register as a sex offender and pay $38,000 under the Justice for Victims Act of 2015 and the Amy, Vicky, and Andy Child Pornography Victim Assistance Act of 2018.
Perez pleaded guilty in May 2025 to one count of cyberstalking and four counts of distribution of child pornography.
Court documents show that Perez befriended the victim online when she was fourteen years old. Over about four years, he encouraged her to send sexually explicit images. In fall 2024, after the victim attempted to end their friendship at age nineteen, Perez used various tactics to cause her emotional distress. He created a Google Drive link with images produced at his request years earlier; set up social media accounts displaying explicit images; shared those links on social media platforms; and sent explicit images by text and email to people in her personal network.
During court proceedings, it was noted that Perez claimed he was “doing God’s work,” while harassing the victim and distributing child pornography along with other personal information about her.
Assistant United States Attorney Julie M. White prosecuted the case.
The investigation involved the FBI with assistance from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office and other local law enforcement agencies in Philadelphia.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program coordinates efforts among federal, state, and local agencies to find offenders who exploit children and rescue victims. More information can be found at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
