A Jamaica Plain man initially arrested for posting child pornography online, which led to evidence he paid one teenager to video himself having sex with his 9-year-old cousin and another to video herself having sex with men, was sentenced today to 22 years in federal prison followed by lifetime probation, the US Attorney’s office reports.
Robinson Alberto Baez-Nova, 39, pleaded guilty in August to one count of sexual exploitation of children, one count of distribution of child pornography and two counts of possession of child pornography.
Baez-Nova was arrested in April, 2021, after Google reported finding child pornography in his Gmail account – 184 images and videos uploaded between 2018 and 2020.
Investigators subsequently found additional evidence linking Baez-Nova to the making of a number of the videos. In once case, he paid a 17-year-old boy he knew in the Dominican Republic to video himself having sex with his 9-year-old niece – and to put her in some specific poses. In another, he offered to pay a 14-year-old girl in that country to video herself having sex with men and to video other children having sex.
Prosecutors had asked for a 30-year sentence:
The Defendant, Robinson Alberto Baez Nova, is a sexual predator with a clear predilection for minors. The facts of this case, which have been recounted numerous times, truly speak for themselves. The Defendant preyed on young, impoverished females and groomed and exploited them with promises of money. If the Defendant was not arrested on October 15, 2020, there is no question that Minor A [the 9-year-old]’s abuse would have continued and worsened at the Defendant’s request. Similarly, if the Defendant had been able to travel back down the Dominican Republic in December 2020 as he planned, Minor A and Minor B [the 14-year-old] likely would have been subject to hands on abuse by the Defendant in exchange for money.