Three people in Florida were arrested Tuesday over an alleged livestreaming business that broadcast the sexual abuse of children for paying viewers.
Walquiria Cassini, a 38-year-old living in the Boca Raton area, and her 42-year-old boyfriend, Ryan Londono, are charged with sexual battery, solicitation and use of a child in a sexual performance, according to arrest warrants obtained by HuffPost.
Walquiria Cassini’s 20-year-old son, Matthew Cassini, is charged with sexual battery of a child under the age of 12.
According to an affidavit, the case centers on the abuse of two boys, ages 14 and 7. The 14-year-old said that his abuse began around age 9, while the 7-year-old said that his abuse began around age 5.
At a hearing Wednesday in Palm Beach County, Judge Donald Hafele said that he was shocked by the allegations in the case, ABC affiliate WPBF reported.
“For the past 25 years, I’ve seen just about everything, so to shock the court’s conscience is frankly a difficult proposition,” Hafele said.
Authorities first began investigating in November, when Marion County sheriff’s deputies were called to a residence in Ocala, Florida, over a report of the boys’ sexual abuse, according to the affidavit. When deputies arrived, they met the individual who reported the abuse, referred to in the document as the complainant.
The affidavit cited remarks that the boys made to the complainant and investigators, with the children saying that the abuse had been occurring for “a while” at a separate residence linked to the suspects and did not want to return there.
One boy said that two of the suspects would pull the children out of their beds to sexually abuse them in front of a laptop.
The 14-year-old said that the last time he had been sexually abused was four or five months prior, and characterized it as a particularly violent incident, according to the affidavit. He told officers that it was the “longest night of my life,” adding that the following morning he was “shivering and scared” and “could not speak a word.”
The teen also recalled one night when he peeked into a suspect’s bedroom through a cracked door. He said that he witnessed the younger boy and one of the suspects, both naked, talking with “an unknown male on the computer,” the affidavit read. The laptop was on the edge of the bed, according to the teen’s recollection — suggesting that it was placed there for a clear view of the abuse.
The 14-year-old said that he saw two of the suspects sexually abusing the younger child, who was asking them to stop. He recalled seeing multiple “toys and open lubricants on the bed.”
The teen told detectives that he went back to his room and threw up. The next morning, he saw the younger child “sitting on his bed holding his butt as if he were in pain,” the affidavit said.
On another occasion, the teen witnessed a “bunch of people” on the computer watching as sexual abuse took place, the document said.
One boy said that he overheard a suspect asking people on the computer “about paying her money,” and “believed they were in some kind of business venture selling the livestream, videos and photos of them,” the affidavit said.
One of the children also told investigators that he has nightmares about his sexual abuse.
The FBI became involved in the investigation in February. But this came after the agency had already launched its own investigation into the suspects for computer crimes associated with transmission of child sexual abuse material.
In January, federal agents served letters to multiple tech companies, including Google, TikTok and X, over accounts linked to the suspects.
The three suspects are due back in court April 4. It’s unclear if Walquiria and Matthew Cassini have retained legal counsel. An attorney for Londono, who has pleaded not guilty in the case, did not immediately respond to HuffPost’s request for comment.
Need help? Visit RAINN’s National Sexual Assault Online Hotline or the National Sexual Violence Resource Center’s website.