A Springfield man was convicted by a federal jury of sexual exploitation of a child, receipt of child pornography, and possession of child pornography after a four-day trial. Bairon Ubeda, 45, faces sentencing on November 24, 2025. He was previously indicted in May 2023 while serving a state sentence for aggravated rape and abuse of a child, among other offenses.
According to evidence presented at trial, Ubeda used fraudulent social media accounts and claimed to represent an adult modeling company as part of a scheme that lasted several years. He tricked women into providing explicit images and personal information. Ubeda then threatened to make the material public unless the women complied with his demands for sexual acts. In cases involving women with children, he threatened to contact child protective services so the victims would lose custody.
Ubeda was federally charged after coercing a woman involved in his scheme to use her three-year-old child in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. He also knowingly received and possessed this material.
The charge of sexual exploitation of a child carries a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years and up to 30 years in prison, at least five years supervised release, and up to $250,000 in fines. The charge of receipt of child pornography has a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in prison as well as financial penalties. Possession can result in up to 20 years imprisonment.
“U.S. Attorney Leah B. Foley; Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations in New England; Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi; and Police Superintendent Lawrence Akers of the Springfield Police Department made the announcement today.”
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Maynard and Mark Grady prosecuted the case with support from the Hampden County District Attorney’s Office.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative started by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at fighting child sexual exploitation by coordinating federal, state, and local efforts to identify offenders and rescue victims. More details about Project Safe Childhood are available at https://www.justice.gov/psc.
