Source: Office of United States Attorneys
PROVIDENCE – A Rhode Island man today pleaded guilty as charged by federal indictment to one count of cyberstalking and four counts of distribution of child pornography, announced Acting United States Attorney Sara Miron Bloom.
Melvin Vidal Herrera Perez, 21, admitted to a federal judge that he befriended a minor child, encouraged her to take sexually explicit images of herself, and later used the images to threaten and harass her after she turned eighteen.
Perez admitted that he used a variety of tactics to cause serious emotional distress to the victim, including opening websites to display her images, texting and emailing her images, and messaging a wide number of individuals in the victim’s personal and social circles.
Perez, who has been detained since his arrest in December 2024, is scheduled to be sentenced on August 6, 2025. The sentence imposed will be determined by a federal district judge after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
The case is being prosecuted by Assistant United States Julie M. White.
The matter was investigated by the FBI.
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