A man from Middletown, New York, has pleaded guilty to several child exploitation charges after using social media platforms TikTok and Snapchat to target minors. The announcement was made by David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut.
James Pagliaro, 27, admitted in court to initiating contact with a 15-year-old girl in Connecticut via TikTok around October 2024. By December of that year, after learning the girl's age, Pagliaro began texting her. He then traveled to Connecticut on at least three occasions in January 2025 to engage in sexual activity with the minor.
A forensic review of the victim's iPhone conducted in February 2025 uncovered hundreds of sexually explicit images and videos involving the minor. Authorities also found over 11,000 text messages and more than 300 calls between Pagliaro and the victim. Court documents state that "In the messages, Pagliaro instructed the minor victim to perform specific sex acts, including sadistic and masochistic conduct. Pagliaro also asked the minor victim to recruit another minor to engage in sexual conduct with him."
Further investigation revealed that Pagliaro had similar sexually explicit exchanges with minors in other locations: a 15-year-old girl in the United Kingdom, a 15-year-old girl in New Jersey, and a 16-year-old girl in Florida. Authorities determined he had initiated contact with thousands of other minors on TikTok and Snapchat. In March 2025 alone, he sent messages—many sexually explicit—to about 600 Snapchat users believed to be minors and sent explicit images of himself to at least 68 users.
Pagliaro has been held since his arrest on March 19, 2025. He pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley to receipt of child pornography (which carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years up to a maximum of twenty years), enticement of a minor (with penalties ranging from ten years up to life imprisonment), and traveling for illicit sexual activity with a minor (up to thirty years imprisonment). Sentencing is scheduled for May 8.
The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations offices in New England and New York as well as local police departments from Orange County (New York), Danbury, Ridgefield, and Watertown.
"This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation," according to officials involved in the case.
Project Safe Childhood is an initiative designed by federal authorities focused on combating child sexual exploitation through coordinated law enforcement efforts nationwide; more details are available at www.justice.gov/psc.
Authorities encourage anyone who suspects cases of child exploitation or abuse online to report incidents through www.cybertipline.com.
