A 27-year-old New York man faces a potential life sentence after admitting to a series of crimes involving the exploitation of minors across state lines and international borders. David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, announced Friday that James Pagliaro, of Middletown, New York, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Kari A. Dooley in Bridgeport.
The charges stem from a calculated campaign of grooming and abuse that began on social media platforms and escalated into physical encounters.
The case against Pagliaro began to take shape in late 2024. According to court documents and statements made in court, Pagliaro first contacted a 15-year-old girl in Connecticut via TikTok in October of that year.
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By December, the girl explicitly told Pagliaro she was 15 years old, at which point the two transitioned to direct text messaging. The digital grooming soon turned into physical travel; investigators found that in January 2025, Pagliaro traveled to Connecticut at least three times to engage in sexual conduct with the minor victim.
The scale of the digital evidence recovered in this case is significant. In February 2025, a forensic examination of the victim’s iPhone uncovered hundreds of sexually explicit images and videos. Even more alarming were the records showing more than 11,000 text messages and over 300 iOS and FaceTime calls between the adult and the teenager.
In the messages, Pagliaro instructed the minor victim to perform specific sex acts, including sadistic and masochistic conduct. He also asked the victim to recruit another minor to engage in sexual conduct with him.
As investigators dug deeper, they realized the Connecticut victim was not an isolated target. The investigation revealed that Pagliaro also exchanged sexually explicit messages, images, and videos with a 15-year-old girl in the United Kingdom, a 15-year-old girl in New Jersey, and a 16-year-old girl in Florida. His reach on social media was expansive, as he initiated contact with thousands of other minors on TikTok and Snapchat.
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In March 2025 alone, Pagliaro sent messages, many of which were sexually explicit, to approximately 600 Snapchat users who appeared to be minors, and sent sexually explicit images of himself to at least 68 of those Snapchat users.
Pagliaro has remained in custody since his arrest on March 19, 2025. He pleaded guilty to three major federal counts: receipt of child pornography, enticement of a minor to engage in sexual activity, and traveling to engage in sexual activity with a minor. These crimes carry heavy penalties. The pornography charge carries a mandatory minimum of five years, the travel charge carries up to 30 years, and the enticement charge carries a mandatory minimum of 10 years with a maximum of life in prison.
The multi-jurisdictional investigation involved HSI New England, HSI New York, the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, and police departments in Danbury, Ridgefield, and Watertown. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel P. Gordon is leading the prosecution as part of the Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative. Judge Dooley has scheduled Pagliaro’s sentencing for May 8.
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