Local

Orlando man sentenced for ‘massive’ child pornography collection, voyeurism at American University

WASHINGTON, D.C. — An Orlando man is headed to prison in Washington D.C. for charges related to possession of child sexual abuse material and video voyeurism.

WATCH CHANNEL 9 EYEWITNESS NEWS

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia, 21-year-old Kyle Blanco’s “massive” collection of child pornography was only discovered after he was caught recording a woman using the restroom at American University.

According to court records, on March 30, 2022, the student caught Blanco using his iPhone to surreptitiously record her from an adjacent stall in a gender-neutral bathroom.

READ: Holly Hill police officer suspended amid accusation of inappropriate behavior

After the victim reported the incident to the American University Police Department, officers executed a search warrant on Blanco’s dorm room where they seized his phone and laptop.

Investigators say Blanco remotely wiped his phone before law enforcement officials could search it.

However, they were able to search his laptop, which yielded evidence of additional incidents of voyeurism on the American University campus and more than 1,000 media files showing the sexual abuse of young girls.

READ: Daytona Beach woman pleads guilty to theft of Veterans Affairs, Social Security funds

Just a week after Blanco’s initial appearance in the case, he violated the conditions of his release by downloading an application frequently used to access child pornography anonymously and by clearing the web history on his phone.

With his release conditions revoked, Blanco surrendered himself to U.S. Marshals in Orlando on June 9, 2023 and remained in custody from then on.

Blanco entered a plea of guilty on August 17, 2023 in Washington D.C. to charges of possession of child pornography and voyeurism.

READ: ‘We already called 3 times’: 911 calls shed light on how the search for Madeline Soto began

He was sentenced by Judge Reggie Walton Wednesday to 71 months in prison, or just under six years.

Following the prison term, Blanco will serve an additional 10 years of supervised release. He was also ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to a victim who was identified in one of the child pornography files.

The case was investigated by the FBI–MPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force with assistance from the American University Police Department.

Click here to download our free news, weather and smart TV apps. And click here to stream Channel 9 Eyewitness News live.