A Guatemalan national and former resident of the West Adams neighborhood of Los Angeles was extradited from Guatemala and arraigned Tuesday on federal charges alleging he produced child sexual abuse material involving five children.
Miguel Angel Batz Jr., 43, also known as Mike Batz, was brought to the United States early Tuesday from Central America and arrived at Los Angeles International Airport, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office.
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Batz is charged with a dozen counts of production of child pornography. At his arraignment Tuesday in Los Angeles federal court, he pleaded not guilty to all counts. A judge ordered him jailed without bond and scheduled a trial to begin Oct. 7.
If convicted, Batz would face a mandatory minimum of 15 to 30 years in federal prison for each count, prosecutors said.
According to the June 2022 indictment that was unsealed Tuesday, Batz enticed and coerced five minor victims — all under the age of 18 years old — to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing pornographic material.
The materials were produced and transmitted via computer, phone and the internet, prosecutors said.
Batz originally was charged in Los Angeles Superior Court with contacting a minor to commit a lewd act and later fled to Guatemala. He had legal status in the United States at the time of the alleged offenses.
Tagged: America, central, charges, child, Ex-LA, extradited, face, Porn, resident