A Valdosta resident is facing a maximum sixty years in prison after pleading guilty to two counts charging him with child pornography production, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Middle District of Georgia has said.
Robert Abacan, 43, of Valdosta, Georgia, pleaded guilty to two counts of production of child pornography before U.S. District Judge Hugh Lawson in Macon federal court last week. Abacan is facing a minimum of 15 years to a maximum 30 years imprisonment for each count. Co-defendant Frances Abacan, 43, of Valdosta, pleaded guilty to one count production of child pornography before Judge Lawson on December 16, 2020. Her sentencing has not yet been scheduled. There is no parole in the federal system.
“Our message to predators who prey on children is that the FBI and all of our federal, state and local law enforcement partners are committed and working hard together to bring them to justice by getting them the toughest penalties of the law,” said Chris Hacker, Special Agent in Charge of FBI Atlanta. “And this case is a great example, thanks to our relationship with the Lowndes County Sheriff Office and the U.S. Attorney’s Office of the Middle District of Georgia.”
In 2018, the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office received information which ultimately revealed that Abacan had sexually molested three minor victims. Some of this sexual abuse was recorded on video, and a copy was transported from the state of California to Valdosta.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.
The case is being investigated by the Lowndes County Sheriff’s Office and the FBI. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Katelyn Semales and Alex Kalim are prosecuting the case for the Government.
