Central Falls Man Who Created Child Porn Sentenced To 35 Years

PROVIDENCE, RI — A Central Falls man who admitted to repeatedly abusing a female toddler and documenting his actions with photographs and video was sentenced today to 35 years in federal prison for creating and distributing child pornography.

Jose Cortes, 41, had regular access to his girlfriend's daughter and sexually molested her starting when the girl was two-and-a-half years old. Cortes admitted to amassing thousands of images of child pornography, according the U.S. Attorney's Office in Rhode Island.

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A probable cause affidavit filed in federal court by Department of Homeland Security Investigator James V. Richardson reveals disturbing details. Cortes got caught after his ex-girlfriend arrived at the Central Falls Police Department in November of 2017 carrying a collection of electronic devices she said belonged to Cortes. She told officers that two former friends of Cortes had tipped her off to his criminal activity.

Central Falls Detective Jeffrey Araujo subsequently interviewed the two friends. They told him Cortes had shown them child pornography, including images of the girl he regarded as his own stepdaughter, during a night of heavy drinking. Cortes told his friends that he bribed another sibling with candy and video games to keep him out of the room where he was sexually assaulting the girl. Cortes told his friends that he himself had been sexually abused as a child, and added that "If you're gonna do this, you gotta get the children that don't talk; they're babies."

The two witnesses found the information to be disturbing, and discussed among themselves and others what to do, the affidavit states. Months later, when Cortes was in jail on a domestic violence charge, the two finally spoke to the girl's mother.

Detective Araujo obtained state search warrants, and an analyst with the Rhode Island State Police Computer Crimes Unit found 1,400 deleted images on one memory card alone. Forensic analysis of a NextBook tablet revealed additional child pornography, including explicit images of the victim. The NextBook also contained video of a prepubescent girl tied up by rope while being vaginally raped by an adult male.

The redacted affidavit states the victim's birth year as 2011. Cortes was arrested on April 19, 2018 and pleaded guilty on June 15, 2020 to two counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography.

Cortes was sentenced in U.S. District Court by Judge William E. Smith to 35 years in prison to be followed by lifetime federal supervised release, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Richard B. Myrus and Central Falls Police Chief Col. Anthony Roberson.