Fresno man charged with sexual exploitation of children through Musical.Ly, Kik, and other apps

A federal grand jury returned a six count indictment against Jacob Eric Blanco, 25, of Fresno, charging him with five counts of sexual exploitation of children and one count of distributing child pornography.

Court documents reveal Blanco is alleged to have used apps on his phone and computer, including Musical.ly and KIK, to target and communicate with girls under the age of 12 for the purpose of having the girls create and transmit images of themselves engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Blanco came to the attention of law enforcement after the parents of a six-year-old girl in Nassau County, New York stated to local police that someone using the app Musical.ly, alleged to be Blanco, had solicited sexually explicit images of the girl. Investigators are actively attempting to identify additional victims.

If convicted, Blanco faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years in prison and a maximum of 30 years in prison for each sexual exploitation count and 5 to 20 years in prison for the one count of distribution of child pornography.