NYC Gazette

Earlier today, in federal court in Brooklyn, Davis Burgos-Collazo was sentenced by United States District Judge Pamela K. Chen to 45 years in prison for five counts of attempted sexual exploitation of a minor, two counts of distributing child pornography, one count of accessing child pornography with intent to view it, and one count of committing a felony sexual offense involving minors while being a registered sex offender. As part of the sentence, the Court ordered Burgos-Collazo to pay restitution of $33,000. Burgos-Collazo was convicted by a federal jury in July 2022 following a one-week trial.

Breon Peace, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of New York, and Christie M. Curtis, Acting Assistant Director in Charge, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), New York Field Office, announced the sentence.

“It has been proven that the defendant is an extremely dangerous predator, who, while being a registered sex offender, coerced a 10-year-old child to perform sex acts for him on Instagram and threatened the child when she pleaded that he leave her alone. And sadly, she was not the only vulnerable victim,” stated United States Attorney Peace. “With today’s sentence, the goal of incapacitating this master manipulator and sextortionist has been achieved. We are dedicated to protecting our children from those who weaponize social media in order to sexually exploit and harm them.”

As set forth in the government’s sentencing memorandum and related court proceedings, in 2020 Burgos-Collazo used at least 26 Instagram accounts to attempt to sexually exploit children as young as nine years old. The defendant enticed the victims by pretending to be a modeling scout and by using accounts with names like “future models” and “preteen beauty pics.” After coercing a 10-year-old victim into performing live sex acts for him on Instagram and threatening her when she pleaded with him to leave her alone, he threatened to post a naked picture of her online if she refused to provide additional sexually explicit materials. The FBI recovered over 100 photos and videos of child pornography on his phone. Burgos-Collazo committed these crimes while he was a registered sex offender; he had previously been convicted in March 2006 for sexually abusing multiple minors under eleven years old.

This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices nationwide, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet while identifying and rescuing victims.

The government’s case is being handled by the Office’s Civil Rights Section. Assistant United States Attorneys Rachel Shanies and John O. Enright are leading the prosecution with assistance from Paralegal Specialist Anna November.

The Defendant:

DAVIS BURGOS-COLLAZO

Age: 45

Queens, New York

E.D.N.Y. Docket No.: 20-CR-492 (PKC)