BRONX PEDOPHILE BUSTED WITH SECRET SEX STUDIO HAD “PATTERN OF CONDUCT”
October 2, 2019
Emily Saul, Craig McCarthy
NY POST
A Bronx man who was busted with a secret sex studio in his apartment was reported to cops more than a decade ago — but he was never arrested, according to prosecutors.
Michael Barreto, 31, stood in Manhattan federal court Wednesday afternoon facing charges on multiple sex crimes involving a runaway teen.
Prosecutor Kedar Bhatia said Barreto’s “pattern of conduct” of sexually abusing minors started years ago when an alleged victim’s parents reported a lewd encounter to police in 2008.
And, at the same time, Barreto was making illicit videos with another minor, according to Bhatia.
It was unclear why Barreto was not arrested or charged in connection to those alleged incidents.
Barreto was picked up again last November for unlawful imprisonment of a minor — which the prosecutor said he believed also involved sexual conduct.
The perv was picked up by cops in March of 2016 as well for pulling out his genitals in front of a 10-year-old boy in The Bronx, police said previously.
When cops stormed Barreto’s Concourse neighborhood apartment Tuesday, they found hidden cameras pointed at the bed and various sex toys, according to police sources.
Cops had recently been searching the area for a 15-year-old runaway when they spotted him going into Barreto’s home, on Gerard Avenue apartment near E. 164th Street, according to police.
The teen had met Barreto when he was 13 selling candy, and he convinced the kid to come back to his apartment to smoke pot, drink alcohol and play video games, according to cops.
The perv would also connect with kids over social media, Bhatia said.
Authorities found at least one video of the two involved in a sexual act from July, when they served a warrant, the federal complaint says.
Other photos and videos were found on Barreto’s phone but it was not clear what was captured.
The teen was in the apartment as recently as Sunday, Bhatia said.
Barreto’s defense attorney, Ariel Werner, said in court that their meetup was purely a “social” visit and there was “no kind of sexual contact.”
“Many devices were seized from my client’s home, and there was only one image and one video recovered,” Werner said.
Werner said Barreto had a ninth-grade education and learning disabilities, but prosecutors were making him out to be “some sort of master hacker.”
Magistrate Judge Kevin Fox was unconvinced and held Barreto without bail.
Barreto is facing charges of sexual exploitation of a child, enticement of a minor and possession of child pornography.
He is due back in court on Oct. 16.
https://nypost.com/2019/10/02/bronx-pedophile-busted-with-secret-sex-studio-had-pattern-of-conduct/
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