Lewiston man accused of producing child sexual abuse material held on $100K bail

Mark Wasson, Post-Bulletin, Rochester, Minn.
·2 min read
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Jul. 21—WINONA — A 29-year-old Lewiston man is being held on $100,000 bail after he was charged in Winona County District Court with 16 felony charges related to the possession and production of child sexual abuse material.

Valentin Silva Quintana was initially charged earlier this month with 10 counts related to the possession of CSAM. Further investigation by law enforcement led to Quintana facing an additional six charges related to the production of CSAM in two other cases.

He appeared before District Judge Nancy Buytendorp Friday morning, July 21, and his next appearance is scheduled for Aug. 17. He has been in custody in the Winona County Adult Detention Center since his arrest on July 6.

He's officially charged with 10 counts of possessing pornographic work of a minor under 14, four charges of electronic solicitation of children to engage in sexual conduct and two charges of using a minor in a sexual performance.

According to court documents:

The Minnesota Bureau of Criminal Apprehension began investigating Quintana in June 2023 after receiving a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which had received 55 files of possible CSAM from Verizon that originated from one of its mobile users, later identified as Quintana.

A BCA agent reviewed the files and found 10 videos of varying lengths that depicted sexually graphic acts of children between approximately 2 and 8 years old.

Following Quintana's arrested, police obtained a search warrant for his cell phone.

At least two girls, one between 10 and 14 years old and another between 7 and 10 years old, were identified during that search.

Screen recordings found on the phone show Quintana instructing the girls to perform several lewd acts. Quintana is also accused of having sent lewd videos to the girls and having received lewd videos from them.

Those experiencing sexual exploitation can call a 24-hour crisis line at 507-289-0636 to speak to someone who can direct you towards help.