TAMPA, Fla. (WWSB) – A 71-year-old Tampa man already charged in a child sexual abuse material investigation now faces additional felony sexual battery charges, according to the Tampa Police Department.
Police said Hernan Velasquez-Rios was arrested after detectives with the department’s Internet Crimes Against Children unit, working with the Florida Department of Law Enforcement, served a search warrant April 1 at 2513 W. Main St.
Investigators said they seized multiple digital devices during the search. A forensic review later found about 90,000 files of child sexual abuse material, police said, leading to 100 counts of possession of child pornography involving 10 or more images.
As detectives continued reviewing the evidence, police said they found material that showed Velasquez-Rios sexually battering multiple children.
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Investigators said the abuse happened between 2002 and 2014 and involved at least six minor victims, some of whom knew the suspect.
Detectives and crime analysts later identified one of the victims, now 26 and living in Buffalo, New York, according to police. Investigators said the victim told detectives the abuse happened between ages 6 and 13 while Velasquez-Rios was a family acquaintance.
Based on that statement and forensic evidence, police said Velasquez-Rios now faces additional charges of sexual battery under familial or custodial authority involving a victim younger than 12 and a victim ages 12 to 17.
He remained jailed Thursday at Orient Road Jail, police said.
Investigators said they believe there may be additional victims and are asking anyone with information about possible crimes involving Velasquez-Rios between 2002 and 2014 to contact the Tampa Police Department’s ICAC unit at 813-276-3266 and reference report No. 26-900479.
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