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Angad Beharry, a 46-year-old New York City Police Officer from Yonkers, and Gisainet Cristina Chirinos Viloria, a 23-year-old Venezuelan citizen from Goshen, Indiana, were both arrested on Thursday, Jan 25 on sexual exploitation charges, the US Attorney's Office for Southern District of New York announced.
According to federal officials, between Aug. 31, 2022, and Sept. 3, 2022, Beharry asked Viloria to send him sexually explicit photos of a nine-year-old child that she was acquainted with. Viloria then allegedly sent these photos to him over WhatsApp in exchange for money.
A month later, in October 2022, members of the Colombian National Police rescued a 1-year-old girl from Medellin, Colombia after her mother took sexually explicit photos of her and shared them on social media. After the mother was arrested, she told authorities that she had communicated with Beharry on Facebook and that he had asked her for material showing sexual acts between her and her infant as well as other requests, officials said.
The same mother also told authorities that she had a friend in Venezuela, Viloria, who she also believed had been communicating with Beharry.
Officials also said that Beharry possessed several photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children, including imagery of men engaging in sexual acts with young girls.
Following their arrests, Beharry and Viloria were both charged with one count of sexual exploitation of a minor, which carries a minimum prison sentence of 15 years and a maximum sentence of 30 years.
Additionally, Beharry was also charged with one count of possession of child pornography depicting prepubescent minors or minors under the age of 12, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison.
US Attorney Damian Williams condemned Beharry's actions, calling them "unconscionable and despicable."
"Beharry, as a New York City Police officer, is trusted in this community to protect us and stand up for what is right, but he now stands accused of victimizing a child to satisfy his own alleged repulsive desires," Williams added.
Anyone with more information regarding the case is asked to call Homeland Security Investigations at 1-866-DHS-2423 or email sextrafficking_outreach@hsi.dhs.gov. The investigation is still ongoing, officials added.
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