A Melbourne man pleaded guilty to sending a Filipino woman money for sexually-explicit content of her 7- and 12-year-old children, authorities say.
MELBOURNE, Fla. — A Florida man was sentenced to life in prison after paying a woman in the Philippines for sexually explicit videos and images of her 7- and 12-year-old kids, according to the Department of Justice.
The DOJ says 29-year-old Kasey James Caudill, of Melbourne, pleaded guilty to coercing the two children from the Philippines to make child sexual abuse material.
Court documents say that back in August 2024, Caudill persuaded, induced, enticed, or coerced both children to produce the material after paying their mother through PayPal.
The Brevard County Sheriff’s Office says it took part in the investigation after receiving a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children regarding a subject uploading child sexual abuse material to the Kik app.
Officials then conducted a search warrant at Caudill’s home and went through his phone, where they reportedly found child pornography and payments for it linked through the PayPal account. They were sent to a woman identified as Cindy Masarate.
While investigating his home, the sheriff’s office learned that he was a previous suspect in a child pornography investigation and was placed on sex offender probation.
Following the search warrant, Caudill was arrested and charged with an on-site violation of probation.
Authorities then began an undercover operation in the Philippines, where they were able to arrest Masarate and save her six children.
Masarate confessed to the crimes and is currently awaiting prosecution, deputies say.
Caudill pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2025.
“Those who target, exploit, and abuse children should know that we will leave no stone unturned to bring them to justice,” U.S. Attorney Gregory W. Kehoe said in a statement. “I applaud our law enforcement partners for their diligence and cooperation in investigating this case beyond our borders.”