Suspect Under Arrest in Sexual Assault of a Minor

March 26, 2019 -Springfield- On March 21, 2019, Photobucket.com reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, a user of the website uploaded images depicting the sexual assault of a child and child pornography.

Because of the nature of the report it was level 1 priority and referred to the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit assigned to the Hampden District Attorney’s Office.

The investigation by Massachusetts State Police Detectives quickly identified Christean Velazquez, 24, of Springfield, as a suspect. On Friday, March 22, 2019, Christean Velazquez was located at his place of employment in Springfield and arrested

He has been charged with: two counts of Indecent Assault and Battery of Child Under 14 Years, four counts of Dissemination of Sexually Explicit Visual Materials Depicting Children, four counts of Possession of Visual Materials of Child Sexual Conduct, four counts of Knowingly Permitting a Child to Engage in Sexual Conduct for Reproduction of Visual Material.

The child depicted in the photos was located and determined to be safe and staying with relatives. A referral has been made with the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families.     

The Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit and the Hampden District Attorney’s Office’s Special Victim’s Unit continues to investigate the case.

Christean Velazquez was arraigned in Springfield District Court on March 25, 2019. He is currently being held on $75,000 cash bail. Should he post bail he has been ordered to be outfitted with a GPS monitoring device, be subject to a curfew, and to stay away and have no contact with the victim.  His next scheduled court date in on April 22, 2019

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