Brazilian National Unlawfully Residing In U.S. Faces Child Pornography Charges: Feds

STAMFORD, CT — A 45-year-old Stamford man was charged in federal court Thursday with possessing child sexual abuse material, U.S. Attorney David X. Sullivan and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations, New England, announced.

Max Mota Pinho, a Brazilian citizen living in Stamford, was charged by federal criminal complaint with possession of child pornography.

According to court documents, a cloud-based storage provider for wireless customers submitted multiple reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children through its CyberTipline system after detecting videos and images depicting the sexual abuse of children stored on an account later linked to Pinho. Investigators subsequently confirmed that child sexual abuse material was stored on the account, authorities said.

Pinho was arrested Wednesday at his residence in Stamford. He appeared in federal court before U.S. Magistrate Judge S. Dave Vatti in Bridgeport and was released on a $50,000 bond.

However, authorities said Pinho had overstayed a tourist visa issued in 2003 and was taken into custody by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement after the court appearance.

The charge carries a maximum prison sentence of 20 years if convicted.

Federal prosecutors emphasized that a criminal complaint is only an allegation and that the defendant is presumed innocent unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations with assistance from the Stamford Police Department, Watertown Police Department, and Westport Police Department. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Gordon.

The prosecution is part of the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort aimed at combating the sexual exploitation of children. Authorities encourage reports of suspected child exploitation through the CyberTipline operated by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.