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Julio is a member of the NYPD Highway Division. He has been suspended without pay.
By Forum Staff
A City cop has been indicted by a Queens grand jury for allegedly using his cellphone to send videos containing child pornography, Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz announced Thursday.
Yavier Julio, 35, of Suffolk County, was arraigned on Thursday afternoon on a four-count indictment charging him with promoting a sexual performance by a child and possessing a sexual performance by a child. He was released on his own recognizance; June 4 was set as his next court date.
According to the charges, on Nov. 9, 2019, Julio, a member of the NYPD Highway Division, used his cell phone to send a text message to an individual that allegedly included a video of a child between the ages of 3 and 6 engaged in a sex act with an adult.
A court-authorized search warrant was obtained on Nov. 22, 2019, and Julio’s phone was confiscated.A forensic examination allegedly found the video that Julio is accused of sending to another person—even though the video had been deleted. The analysis also found two additional videos of children being sexually abused. One of the additional videos depicted children between the ages of 2 and 6 engaged in or simulating sexual intercourse; and another video depicted a child between the ages of 2 and 6 with his genitals exposed.
“The defendant, who is vested with enforcing the law as a member of the New York City Police Department, is accused of committing a horrible breach of trust by possessing and disseminating a video that is for all intents and purposes images of a crime scene,” Katz said.“This alleged behavior is wholly unacceptable of anyone—especially a member of law enforcement.”
Police Commissioner Dermot Shea said Julio has been suspended without pay.
“We take these allegations extremely seriously,” Shea added.
If convicted, Julio faces up to seven years in prison.
