Rochester Man Convicted of Disseminating Child Porn Gets Prison

Rochester, MN (KROC-AM News) - A Rochester man was given a prison sentence today in a case that included a rarely seen criminal offense.

Investigation Started With Cyber Tip

Thirty-five-year-old Emanuel Ernesto Zavala was charged in October 2024 following an investigation by the Rochester Police Department. Olmsted County court records show the investigation was based on a cyber tip concerning 48 videos of suspected child sexual abuse material that had been uploaded to Snapchat and the Kik social media platform.

Zavala - Olmsted County ADC photo

Videos and Images of child Sexual Assaults

The criminal complaint says the cyber tip also included information about 30 additional videos allegedly sent by Zavala to other users of Snapchat and Kik. According to the charges, the videos depicted children between the ages of five and 11 being sexually assaulted by adults.

Admitted Sharing Child Sex Abuse Material

Court documents indicate Rochester police linked the social media accounts to Zavala, and investigators executed a search warrant at his residence in southeast Rochester. According to the criminal complaint, Zavala eventually gave a statement to investigators and admitted that he had been sending messages and videos of children engaging in sexual acts through Snapchat for more than a year.

(Photo illustration by Scott Olson/Getty Images)

Bestiality Charge Dismissed

The original complaint charged him with one count each of disseminating and possessing child pornography. It was later amended to include a felony count of engaging in electronic communication relating to or describing sexual conduct with a child and a misdemeanor count of bestiality involving an animal.

Zavala entered into a plea agreement last December and admitted to the charge of dissemination of child pornography. All of the other charges against him were dismissed about a week before he was scheduled to stand trial.