Federal indictment charges Sacramento resident with child sexual exploitation, other offenses

Last week a federal grand jury in Sacramento returned a five-count indictment against Dakota Jeremiah Pevino (aka Dakota Jeremiah Viggiano), 35, of Sacramento. Pevino is charged with sexual exploitation of a child and distribution and possession of visual depictions of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Evidence introduced showed that in the summer of 2023, Pevino sent videos of adult males sexually abusing prepubescent minors to another user on the Telegram application. Those video recordings accompanied chats of a sexual nature regarding minors.

Investigators also found other images of a prepubescent child being sexually exploited on Pevino’s phone that were taken in his home. Additionally, it is alleged that Pevino sent images and videos of himself sexually abusing a minor victim on messaging applications like Grindr and Telegram.

The investigation was conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force / Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and the Sacramento Sheriff’s Department.

Pevino is in custody at the Sacramento County Jail and is not eligible for bail.