Modesto man pleads guilty to sexual exploitation of five minors

Daniel Vincent Salazar Jr., 28, of Modesto, pleaded guilty on Sept. 16 to five counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, U.S. Attorney Phillip A. Talbert announced.

According to court documents, between December 2018 and January 2020, Salazar used Instagram and Snapchat accounts to contact underage females and coerce them into taking and sending him images of themselves engaging in sexually explicit conduct. If victims refused to comply with Salazar’s demands, he threatened to send explicit images he had already received to classmates and family members of victims. Some of the victims were from the Westside area.

Salazar is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Jennifer L. Thurston on January 13, 2025. Salazar faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison, a maximum of 30 years in prison, and a fine of up to $250,000 and possibly lifetime parole. He will also be ordered to pay restitution to victims. However, the actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after considering all applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the product of an investigation by Patterson Police Services, the Los Angeles and San Jose Police Departments, the Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Office, California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation – Division of Adult Parole Operations, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David L. Gappa is prosecuting the case.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Abuse and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to investigate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.