Stratford Man Charged With Child Exploitation Offenses: Feds

Stratford CT

05 May, 2022

8:01 AM

Description

STRATFORD, CT — A Stratford man faces several child exploitation charges and is accused of victimizing a 14-year-old girl through Snapchat, according to officials. Alexander Dilella, 22, was arrested Wednesday on a federal complaint charging him with multiple child exploitation offenses, U.S. Attorney for Connecticut Leonard C. Boyle announced. Dilella appeared in Bridgeport federal court and was detained pending the completion of his detention hearing, which was continued until May 6. Dilella is accused of using various online applications, including Snapchat, Omegle and FaceTime, to communicate with minor girls, some as young as 13 or 14 years old, and "entice them to engage in illegal sexual activity," according to a news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. "During one Snapchat exchange with a 14-year-old victim, Dilella referred to the girl as a 'child porn slave' and demanded that she send him a sexually explicit image of herself, which she did," officials wrote in the news release. "It is further alleged that, on May 24, 2021, investigators seized Dilella's iPhone. Analysis of the phone revealed videos of prepubescent children being sexually abused." The complaint charges Dilella with enticement of a minor to engage in illegal sexual activity, which carries a mandatory minimum term of 10 years in prison, and a maximum term of imprisonment of life; receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years; and possession of child pornography, which carries a maximum term of imprisonment of 10 years. Boyle stressed that a criminal complaint is "not evidence of guilt," the release states. "Charges are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt." The 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. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit here. To report cases of child exploitation, visit here. To sign up for Stratford breaking news alerts and more, click here.