GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – A Green Bay man will spend 15 years in federal prison after he pled guilty to sexual exploitation of a child.
29-year-old Joseph J. Valdez used a smartphone to talk “hundreds” of underage girls to send him sexually explicit photos of themselves, according to federal prosecutors.
Valdez claimed to be a modeling agent, and used text messages and the messaging app “Kik” to contact girls as young as 9. Prosecutors say after getting the photos, he would often blackmail the victims into sending more graphic images by threatening to forward the pics he already had to the girls’ parents, friends and school administrators.
Investigators say this caused several the girls to threaten suicide.
The victims in this case came from all over the United States, including some in Northeast Wisconsin.
Valdez was also sentenced to 20 years of supervised release after his prison sentence. He’ll also have to register as a sex offender.
