MILFORD, Mass.- A 37-year-old man was arrested in Milford after a CyberTip from the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children led investigators to an investigation into alleged child abuse and child sexual abuse material.
Manuel Dafonte was arrested Wednesday, August 5, following a joint investigation by Milford police and the Massachusetts State Police Cyber Crime Unit. Investigators said the CyberTip contained information that led them to believe images allegedly possessed by Dafonte showed the recent sexual abuse of a child.
At about 9:52 p.m., Milford detectives located Dafonte driving a white Nissan Frontier on Medway Road. He was stopped at the Mobil gas station on Medway Road.
At about the same time, members of the Massachusetts State Police STOP Team, Cyber Crime Unit and Milford Police Patrol Division carried out a search warrant at Dafonte’s home on Taft Street.
Dafonte was charged with possession of child pornography, second offense; indecent assault and battery on a child under 14; posing or exhibiting a child in a nude or sexually explicit pose; and photographing the sexual or intimate parts of a child.
According to Milford police, Dafonte had previously been charged with possession of child pornography and is now accused of similar conduct involving the exploitation of a child.
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