Registered Sex Offender Sent Obscene Photos, Messages To Children: DOJ

LAGRANGEVILLE, NY — A Hudson Valley sex offender used communications and social media apps for nefarious and disturbing purposes, according to federal officials.

Jay Clayton, the U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of New York, and James Crowley, the Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Boston Field Division of the FBI, announced that 27-year-old David Fernandes III, of Lagrangeville, was arrested on Thursday, and presented in White Plains federal court and detained on Friday. He was charged with sending obscenity to a minor while being a registered sex offender.

The charge of sending obscene material to a minor carries up to 10 years in prison, and committing the offense while being required to register as a sex offender carries a mandatory consecutive sentence of 10 years in prison.

"Allegedly, David Fernandes III, a registered sex offender, was not deterred by his previous involvement with the criminal justice system," Clayton said. "This case underlines the urgent need for law enforcement to continue its efforts to protect children. The women and men of the Southern District and the FBI will use every tool available to investigate and prosecute those who sexually exploit children."

WARNING: Some of the information below from court filings may be disturbing for some readers.

According to court documents, on October 8, 2024, Fernandes knowingly sent a photo of an adult male holding a penis to an 11-year-old child.

At the time of the incident, he was required to be registered as a sex offender, due to being convicted on March 19, 2019, of disseminating indecent material to a minor, for which he received a sentence of five years' probation. He completed that sentence on September 12, 2024.

On October 11, 2024, the mother of an 11-year-old child notified the Holden Police Department, in Holden, Massachusetts, that she found sexually explicit images and communications on her daughter's phone from a particular phone number. She told police that her daughter's 12-year-old friend had also been communicating with the same person at that phone number.

A forensic review of the 11-year-old's phone found over 4000 messages exchanged between her phone and the phone number between October 4, 2024, and October 8, 2024.

In the messages, the user of the phone number identified himself as a 26-year-old man, and sent sexually explicit videos and photos of an adult man to the 11-year-old's phone.

The 11-year-old girl told authorities that she first communicated with the man on October 4, 2024.

Around 4:41 a.m. on October 4, 2024, the man sent a video to the 11-year-old's phone showing an adult holding an erect penis, masturbating and ejaculating.

Around 3:58 a.m. on October 8, 2024, the man texted, "I wanna feel u," "Like genuinely feel inside u" and "I wanna be all the way inside you." Around 4 a.m. on October 8, 2024, the man sent a photo of a male hand holding an erect penis. Soon after, he texted, "Imagine that inside u."

The 12-year-old told law enforcement that she started communicating with the man, who identified himself as "David," in September 2024, through Snapchat, Roblox, and video chats on Google Meet. She said that the man asked for sexually explicit pictures and videos of her and that she sent them to him, mostly via Snapchat. She provided "David" with her 11-year-old friend's phone number so that she and David could also message one another.

"Anyone willing to sexually exploit children deserves to feel the full force of the law," Crowley said. "The FBI has arrested David Fernandes, a registered sex offender, for sending sexually explicit material to an 11-year-old child in Massachusetts. Each time we’re able to step in and protect a child from further sexual exploitation, it's a good day."

Anyone who had contact with Fernandes, who used the Snapchat user names "tazjazz," "diamondboy24k," "itsmagikyouknow," and "retrovxrse," or whose child may have had any communications with Fernandes, is asked to contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (225-5324).

Clayton praised the efforts of the FBI, including the FBI New York Hudson Valley Safe Streets Task Force and FBI Boston; the Holden Police Department; the U.S. Attorney's Office for the District of Massachusetts; the Dutchess County Sheriff's Office; and the Town of Poughkeepsie Police Department during this investigation.

The prosecution is being handled by the Office's White Plains Division, with Assistant U.S. Attorney Marcia S. Cohen in charge of the prosecution.