Former airman sentenced to 30 years after HSI Norfolk child sexual abuse investigation
Former active-duty servicemember directed minor girls to produce child sexual abuse material
NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — An investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Norfolk, the FBI Norfolk field office and the Newport News Police Department resulted in a 30-year prison sentence for a former Air Force service member for a child sexual abuse material conviction. Elliott Velez, 38, of Surprise, Arizona, received the lengthy prison sentence March 24 for directing underaged girls to produce sexually explicit material for him.
Velez, a former active-duty senior master sergeant in the U.S. Air Force who committed these crimes in Newport News, will face a lifetime of supervised release following his incarceration.
“It is always a tragedy to witness cases like that of Elliott Velez. As a U.S. service member, he sought to represent the finest characteristics of our great nation, but this investigation proved him not only to be a fraud, but a child predator as well,” said HSI Washington, D.C. Special Agent in Charge Derek W. Gordon. “HSI and our law enforcement partners are watching closely for indicators of child exploitation throughout our community. Velez’s sentencing is a result of those partnerships and the watchful eyes of all of the dedicated special agents and officers involved in this investigation.”
According to the joint investigation, from the summer of 2021 through March 2022, Velez used over 28 known fictitious social media accounts across multiple social media platforms to engage in sexually graphic conversations with girls under the age of 18.
During these conversations with his victims, Velez instructed them to engage in sexually explicit conduct, take photos or videos, and send the images to him. He gave explicit instructions on what he wanted them to do and with whom he wanted them to engage in sexually explicit conduct, including other underage individuals.
A review of just one account during the span of only one week revealed that Velez had engaged in over 7,000 lines of sexually graphic conversations with minors. He used a recording device on his phone to keep videos and images without the victims’ knowledge.
HSI Norfolk, the FBI’s Norfolk field office and the Newport News Police Department investigated the case with significant assistance from the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia and the Department of Justice.
This case is part of Project Safe Neighborhoods (PSN). PSN is an evidence-based program proven to be effective at reducing violent crime. Through PSN, various stakeholders work together to identify the most pressing violent crime problems in the community and develop comprehensive solutions to address them. As part of this strategy, PSN focuses enforcement efforts on the most violent offenders and partners with locally based prevention and reentry programs for lasting reductions in crime.
HSI encourages members of the public to report child exploitation crimes or suspicious activity by calling the HSI tip line at 866-347-2423. The tip line is manned 24 hours a day.
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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