A 20-year-old Kissimmee man will spend the next two decades behind bars after Florida officials tracked down a trail of illicit uploads on a popular social media app.
Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Tuesday that Miguel Giraldo has been sentenced to 22 years in state prison following a conviction on 20 counts of Possession of Child Sexual Abuse Materials (CSAM).
The case against Giraldo began in early September 2024. The Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE) jumped into action after receiving a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. That tip flagged Giraldo for uploading illegal content directly to his Snapchat account.
Once investigators moved in, Giraldo admitted to sending the materials through the app. A deeper forensic dive into his phone uncovered even more disturbing evidence, including files depicting the abuse of children as young as two years old.
READ: DNA Detectives: Florida Launches Massive Statewide Hunt To Crack 21,000 Cold Cases
During the sentencing hearing, which followed a plea to the bench, the courtroom heard from a variety of voices, including defense doctors, Giraldo’s family, and the lead FDLE agent on the case.
Giraldo’s defense team pushed for a lighter sentence, arguing that he should be treated as a “youthful offender.” However, the Office of Statewide Prosecution fought back against a downward departure, successfully securing the 22-year term.
“In Florida, child predators will be caught and held accountable every single time,” Attorney General Uthmeier said in a statement following the ruling. “This multi-decade sentence is what this predator deserved, and we are glad the Court refused to grant a downward departure on his sentence. I am grateful to Senior Assistant Statewide Prosecutor Lauryn Day for ensuring this vile predator is off the streets and away from our kids.”
Giraldo has been remanded to the Florida Department of Corrections to begin serving his time. State officials emphasized that the length of the sentence serves as a direct result of the severity of the files found during the forensic extraction of his devices.
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