Antonio Merced, a 29-year-old from Worcester, was sentenced on March 26 to 30 years in federal prison for sexually exploiting three minor females. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Court Judge Margaret R. Guzman, will be followed by a lifetime of supervised release and is set to run consecutive to his existing state prison term.
The case underscores ongoing efforts by law enforcement agencies to address crimes involving the sexual exploitation of children and the production of child pornography.
Merced pleaded guilty in July 2025 to three counts of sexual exploitation of a minor and one count of possession of child pornography. Investigators found that in July 2024 he exposed two minors to pornography and sex toys, leading authorities to uncover further evidence that he had been sexually abusing three minors and producing videos documenting the abuse. Materials recovered included documentation from abuse occurring in 2023 involving a six-year-old child as well as videos created in 2024 showing Merced abusing two other children. At his plea hearing, Merced admitted using the three minors to create explicit videos and possessing hundreds of images and videos depicting child sexual abuse material involving unknown children.
Merced was arrested in September 2024 and later indicted at Worcester Superior Court. He was convicted there on ten counts of aggravated rape of a child and sentenced to serve between twenty-five and thirty years in state prison.
United States Attorney Leah B. Foley said the sentencing announcement involved cooperation among her office, Special Agent Ted E. Docks from the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Boston Division, and Worcester Police Chief Paul B. Saucier. Assistant U.S. Attorney Kristen Noto prosecuted the case.
This prosecution is part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation nationwide through collaboration between federal, state, and local resources.