Andrey Chun Sarmiento, a 24-year-old resident of Hallwood, Virginia, was sentenced to 66 months in prison for distributing child pornography. The sentencing was announced by U.S. Attorney Jeanine Ferris Pirro.
Sarmiento pleaded guilty on July 30, 2024, to one count of distribution of child pornography. In addition to the prison term, U.S. District Court Judge Loren L. AliKhan ordered that Sarmiento serve ten years of supervised release following his incarceration.
According to court documents, on February 13, 2024, an undercover officer with the MPD-FBI Child Exploitation Task Force was monitoring an encrypted online application frequented by individuals with a sexual interest in children. During this operation, Sarmiento sent an unsolicited message to the undercover agent and provided a link containing over 200 video files depicting adult men engaging in sexually explicit acts with minors. Many of these videos involved men raping prepubescent boys.
Sarmiento described himself as a “huge pedo” during his conversation with the undercover agent and claimed he had sexually abused a nine-year-old when he was in high school. At the time of the offense, he was enrolled in law school in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.
Law enforcement arrested Sarmiento on March 1, 2024, in Harrisburg.
The FBI’s Washington Field Office and the Metropolitan Police Department led the investigation into this case. Additional support came from the FBI’s Philadelphia Field Office’s Harrisburg Resident Agency and the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Rachel Bohlen, Caroline Burrell, and Paul V. Courtney prosecuted the case.
