Former serviceman sentenced in Maryland on charges of child exploitation

A former U.S. serviceman has been sentenced to 15.5 years for sexually exploiting a child while he was serving in the military. 

The sentence for 33-year-old Daniel Lara-Salazar was handed down Monday by U.S. District Judge Matthew Maddox. The sentence is to be served in federal prison, a statement by the U.S. Attorney's Office-District of Maryland said. 

According to Lara-Salazar's guilty plea, the crime happened when he was stationed in Puyallup, Washington. Lara-Salazar persuaded a minor female, who lived in Maryland, to send him sexually explicit videos and images of herself. 

From June 2024 to July 2024, Lara-Salazar began using Snapchat to message the minor victim. Shortly after, he began demanding that she send him pictures and videos, officials said.  

Snapchat has a feature where anything sent will disappear after 24 hours unless saved. Some of the images sent to Lara-Salazar by the victim were no longer in the system when the account was viewed by law enforcement. 

Law enforcement later learned that Lara-Salazar used Snapchat to talk to other minors in different states, including Texas. He also persuaded them to send sexually explicit content.  

This case is a part of Project Safe Childhood, launched in May 2006, by the Department of Justice. It aims to combat a growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Project Safe Childhood uses federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute people who sexually exploit children.  

More information on Project Safe Childhood can be found on the US. Department of Justice website.