A man in Panama is sentenced to 13 years in prison for disseminating child abuse material

Panama.- A Venezuelan man was sentenced in Panama to 13 years in prison for disseminating and possessing child sexual abuse material, an official source reported this Friday. The foreigner was sentenced through a plea agreement endorsed by a Guarantees Court in the province of Panama Oeste, adjacent to the capital, after the Public Ministry (MP, Prosecutor's Office) verified the criminal conduct of the defendant, the investigating entity indicated in a statement. In addition, the accessory penalty of "prohibition from working near parks, schools, or places where minors gather, for a term of five years, once the main sentence has been served" was imposed. The events that led to the conviction occurred on May 4, 2025, "when a man massively disseminated a video in a WhatsApp group where a minor was observed being sexually abused", according to the statement. The information indicates that subsequently, during a search warrant, "the now-convicted person was found to have an electronic device containing videos of minors engaged in sexual activities."

You can also read: They confirm the first death from hantavirus in Panama

In the last seven years, in Panama, more than 40 operations have been carried out for child sexual abuse material with 127 people arrested, 54 convictions, and 64 rescued victims. Of these actions against the sexual exploitation and abuse of minors, more than 15 have been carried out in international collaboration, according to official data. Child sexual exploitation is punished in Panama with prison sentences of between ten and 15 years if the victim is under 14 years old, and three to five years if it is possession of child sexual material.