NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — A former Air Force Senior Master Sergeant has been sentenced in Newport News to 30 years in prison, then a lifetime of supervised release for production of child sexual abuse material.
According to a spokesperson for the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of Virginia, 38-year-old Edward Velez of Surprise, AZ used more than 28 known fictitious social media accounts on several different platforms to engage in sexually graphic conversations with girls under the age of 18.
Velez was an active-duty airman living in Newport News at the time of his arrest.
The spokesperson said Velez would tell his victims he wanted them to "engage in sexually explicit conduct," and for them to take photos or videos while doing so, then to send the images or videos to him. Velez would reportedly tell them exactly what he wanted them to do, as well as who if anyone he wanted them to engage in the sexually explicit behavior with, including other underage individuals.
According to the spokesperson, their review of just one of the accounts Velez used indicated he had posted more than 7,000 lines of explicit dialog with minors. They said Velez would also use a recording device on his phone to ensure that he could keep these videos and images without the victim’s knowledge.
The case against Velez was investigated by the FBI’s Norfolk Child Exploitation Task Force (NCETF), as part of Project Safe Childhood. The NCETF is composed of FBI agents and detectives from the Chesapeake Police Department, Hampton Police Division, and Newport News Police Department.
The spokesperson wanted to remind the public that tips regarding child exploitation can be provided to the child exploitation task force at 1-800-CALL-FBI or tips.fbi.gov.
Former Air Force Man gets 30 years+ sentence in Newport News on child porn charges
38-year-old Edward Velez reportedly used over 28 known fictitious social media accounts to exploit young girls.
