Mexican citizen pleads guilty to production of child pornography
BUFFALO, N.Y. / Thursday, January 8, 2026 -U.S. Attorney Michael DiGiacomo announced today that Victor Francisco Lucas, 32, a citizen of Vera Cruz, Mexico, pleaded guilty before U.S. District Judge Lawrence J. Vilardo to production of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum penalty of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Evan K. Glaberson, who is handling the case, stated that beginning on January 3, 2025, and continuing for approximately two weeks, Lucas, who was residing in the Western District of New York, communicated with an out of state 12-year-old minor victim through TikTok, text message, phone calls and video calls. During these communications, Lucas, who claimed to be a 13-year-old boy, requested and directed the minor victim to produce sexually explicit images and send the images to him by text message. Also, during these communications, Lucas engaged in sexually explicit live stream facetime video calls with the minor victim.
During the investigation, a search of Lucas’ cell phone recovered material constituting child pornography, as well as multiple additional chat conversations with additional minors, which included sexually graphic communications and the transmission and receipt of child pornography.
The plea is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, under the direction of Special Agent-in-Charge Philip Tejera, and the Niagara County Sheriff’s Office, under the direction of Sheriff Michael Filicetti.
Sentencing is scheduled for May 18, 2026, before Judge Vilardo.
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Contact
Barbara Burns
716-843-5817
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Western District of New York
