A 33-year-old Boston man was sentenced to 22 years in prison for pretending to be a teenager on TikTok to coerce a minor into sending him child sex abuse material, Acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy announced on Jan 24.

       Hector Acevedo, 33, of Jamaica Plain, was sentenced by US District Judge Patti B. Saris to 22 years in prison and five years of supervised release on Jan 24. Acevedo pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography as a Level 3 registered sex offender.

       The Boston man had been previously sentenced to five to seven years in prison and three years’ probation in Suffolk County Superior Court on several child and sexual exploitation charges, the office said.

       These included posing or exhibit a child nude or in sexual conduct, trafficking a person for sexual servitude, multiple child sexual abuse material-related charges, and other crimes.

       Acevedo then contacted a 13-year-old girl on TikTok and claimed to be a 17-year-old boy, just months after being released, and while he was still on probation, the office said.

       The 33-year-old man asked for the child’s phone number and began texting her; then, he began asking her for naked pictures of herself, the office said.

       He eventually coerced the 13-year-old girl into engaging in sexual conduct over video chat, the office said. The Boston man also asked for her address, though she did not give it to him, the office added.

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       Later, Acevedo solicited other children online on other platforms by pretending to be a pre-teen or teenage girl, and asked them to send him naked pictures as well, the office said.

       The announcement of Acevedo’s sentence came from acting United States Attorney Joshua S. Levy, the FBI Boston Division, and Boston Police Commissioner Michael Cox. The Arlington and Revere Police Departments assisted in the case.

       The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, which is “a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse,” the office said.

       The project launched in May 2006 from the Department of Justice and works to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children, as well as identify and rescue victims. It is led by the US Attorneys’ Offices and the DOJ’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section. – masslive.com/Tribune News Service