A 63-year-old convicted sex offender was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison for production and possession of child sex abuse images, some of which were created over 25 years ago.
Michael Belmares was sentenced to 25 years in federal prison this week, with an additional 10-year term of supervised release. Belmares pled guilty on March 15.
According to court records, Belmares took photos of a six-year-old child that depicted the child naked from the waist down. During a search of Belmares’ electronic devices, authorities discovered thousands of photos depicting children being sexually abused, as well as multiple photos that Belmares had taken of fully-clothed children in shopping center parking lots.
The St. Cloud Police Department and Federal Bureau of Investigation found multiple binders of photos that Belmares had saved with date stamps from as early as 1996. The court also found that Belmares had a 1996 sex offense conviction in North Carolina that enhanced his sentence.