SAN FRANCISCO — A San Mateo man was sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for sharing a video of himself sexually abusing a 15-year-old boy, court records show.
Christian Guardado, 26, was sentenced in mid-May by U.S. District Judge James Donato. Guardado has been in jail for two years on federal charges of child pornography distribution, and pleaded guilty in June 2022.
Prosecutors described Guardado as a “predator” with “a penchant for exploiting underage boys through hands-on sexual abuse and over the Internet,” who shared the video in question with at least seven other people. They wrote in court papers that he admitted to vacationing in Spain because he wanted to visit an area with a lower age of consent than in the United States.
“Guardado’s cell phone and Snapchat account contained numerous child pornography images and videos, some of them filmed by Guardado himself, and depicting suspected minor victims engaged in sexually explicit conduct with Guardado,” Assistant U.S. Attorney Yoosun Koh wrote in a 2021 court filing. “Guardado targeted suspected minor victims online on social media applications such as Snapchat, enticing and manipulating them to send him sexually explicit images and videos, and even suggesting that they meet in person to film videos of them having sex.”
Guardado’s attorney asked Donato for a 100-month sentence, saying Guardado has “extreme remorse,” experienced abuse as a child, and “committed himself to reforming his understanding of sexual behavior” by taking advantage of jail self-help programs.
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