Detroit man sentenced to 35 years in prison for filming himself sexually abusing young children, following HSI investigation
DETROIT – A local man was sentenced to 35 years in prison Oct. 27, based on his criminal convictions for filming himself sexually abusing three children under the age of nine, and then distributing the child pornography to others over the internet, announced Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar.
Salazar was joined in the announcement by United States Attorney Dawn N. Ison.
Nathanal Pace, a 27-year-old Detroit resident, was arrested in December 2019, after local police received tips that someone in his residence had been trading child pornography online using a cloud-based storage service and a social media application. HSI Detroit special agents determined the individual to be Pace, and executed a search warrant at his residence. During the search, Pace admitted to sexually assaulting multiple children, and creating child pornography.
Subsequently, Pace pleaded guilty to sexually abusing an eight-year-old boy in January 2019, while recording himself using his cellphone. Pace also pleaded guilty to filming himself sexually abusing a four-year old girl in December 2019.
“These horrific acts strike at the very fabric of our communities. It is my hope that today’s sentencing can bring some measure of closure to those senselessly victimized by these crimes,” said HSI Detroit Special Agent in Charge Angie Salazar. “HSI Detroit and our law enforcement partners will continue to aggressively investigate child exploitation and bring predators like Pace to justice.”
U.S. Attorney Dawn Ison stated that, “protecting our most vulnerable members of society – our children – remains a top priority for my office.”
This case was investigated by HSI. The case is part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maggie Smith.
HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and 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 over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 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.
Learn more about HSI’s mission @HSIDetroit.
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