A woman, her son and her boyfriend are accused of sexually abusing children in South Florida and streaming the heinous acts to a paying audience.
Walquiria Cassini, Matthew Cassini and Ryan Londono, of Boca Raton, were taken into custody after a months-long investigation by the FBI, according to West Palm Beach ABC affiliate WPBF.
“For the past 25 years, I’ve seen just about everything, so to shock the court’s conscience is frankly a difficult proposition at this point in the court’s career,” Palm Beach County Judge Donald Hafele said. “The extent of this is probably never going to be known.”
Walquiria Cassini, 38, an ultrasound technician, is facing capital charges. She’s accused of sexually abusing two children, both well under 10 and starting when the youngest was just 5.
Londono, 42, Cassini’s boyfriend, an IT professional, faces the same charges and is accused of performing on camera for anonymous viewers to watch on streaming platforms.
Cassini’s 20-year-old son, Matthew Cassini, is also accused of sexually abusing the children.
WPBF reports that his lawyer pointed out that he was not charged with filming the alleged abuse, but a prosecutor countered with, “He’s charged with actual intercourse with the child.”
The station reports that the FBI raided Cassini’s home on Tuesday and found cameras and tripods used to record the abuse along with Venmo and other financial transactions they said were connected to the venture.
Hafele, responding to a defense lawyer noting that no videos were found, said 33 videos were erased from one online platform the day after the investigation began.
He continued to express outrage over the charges and ordered the defendants remain held without bond.