California Man Emilio Morales, Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Minor He Met While Playing “Clash Of Clans”

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, May 31, 2019
California Man Sentenced to 14 Years in Prison for Sexually Exploiting a Minor He Met While Playing “Clash Of Clans”

A Fresno, California, man was sentenced today to 14 years in prison followed by seven years of supervised release for using the internet to coerce and entice a minor into producing child pornography.

Assistant Attorney General Brian A. Benczkowski of the Justice Department’s Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney G. Zachary Terwilliger of the Eastern District of Virginia and Acting Assistant Director in Charge John P. Selleck of the FBI’s Washington Field Office made the announcement.

Emilio Morales, 29, was sentenced today before U.S. District Judge Liam O’Grady. According to admissions made in connection with his guilty plea, Morales met the 11-year-old victim while playing the online game “Clash of Clans.” In 2017, Morales began grooming the victim over Clash of Clans before proposing that he and the victim communicate privately over the online chatting application Kik Messenger. While communicating over Kik Messenger, Morales coerced and persuaded the victim to produce and send him sexually explicit images and videos. The conduct ceased when, despite Morales’s attempts at manipulation, the minor victim refused to participate in any further sexual activity.
[link to www.justice.gov (secure)]