Sean Fiore Bought 2 Torture-Snuff Films

Moraima Escarlet Vasquez Flores being arrested

Sean Fiore was being investigated for child pornography. When police searched his computer, they discovered he had bought 2 videos of people being tortured and murdered from a woman living in Venezuela. He is awaiting sentencing.   

Background

On March 25, 2019, Special Agent Caitlin Moynihan was conducting an online investigation. She was looking for offenders who share child pornography online. Her investigation uncovered an IP address which had been associated with a torrent which investigators flagged by investigators for having child pornography. A torrent allows a file to be stored in bits in pieces throughout multiple serves and accessed on multiple serves at the same time. Special Agent Caitlin Moynihan downloaded an incomplete file and obtained the IP address that was accessing the file. After determining the file was child pornography, the agent further investigated the IP address and determined it was owned by Sean Fiore, who lived in Burlington, Vermont.

After confirming that the address that Special Agent Caitlin Moynihan uncovered was associated with Sean Fiore, federal agents started their investigation. On April 16, 2019, an agent went to the address and determined the car in the driveway was registered to the suspect. Agents submitted a warrant to search the devices associated with the address, which a judge granted on May 9, 2019.

Investigation

During the search of the confiscated computers, agents found multiple files that contained child pornography that Fiore either sent, received, or downloaded.

Agents discovered that Sean Fiore was in contact with a woman named Moraima Escarlet Vasquez Flores, who lived aboard in Venezuela. Fiore was using the alias “Marcus” and Flores, who was using the alias “Johana.” Fiore had requested that Flores kidnap and torture people on video for money.

According to United States Attorney’s Office (District of Vermont) Fiore had told Flores he a video that depicted “the kidnapping and torture of a ‘slave’; they spoke about using a child for the video. Flores had agreed to make the video for $600 which Fiore paid her in Amazon gift cards.

On October 3, 2018, Flores sent Fiore a video “depicting sadistic abuse of a prepubescent boy,” where “Flores inflicted pain on the child for the sexual arousal of the viewer of the video.”

Police also discovered on November 11, 2018, Fiore had emailed Flores asking if she would make another video of her beating, torturing, and killing” a kidnapped man. On November 14, 2018, Flores responded with an email titled “Movie Plan”

On December 7, 2018, Fiore and Flores agreed on a price of $4,000USD for the video. Between December 13, 2018, and March 12, 2019, Fiore sent payments in the form of cash transfers and gifts cards.

Fiore emailed Flores with detailed instructions on what he wanted to occur during the torture. According to federal court documents Fiore requested “among other things he wanted [Flores] to hit and kick the kidnapped male, burn him on his face and elsewhere on his body with a lit cigarette, urinate and defecate on his body, fill his mouth with feces, wrap his head in plastic, and smother him by sitting on his face for at least seven minutes, or until he died.”

Flores sent Fiore the video of the torture and murder on April 8, 2019. She titled it “Movie death of a slave (1 hour). According to federal court documents, “it depicted the torture and apparent killing of an adult man who was restrained and tied to a bed.”

Police have not released the identity of the victims.

Arrest & Charges

Moraima Escarlet Vasquez Flores has been arrested in Colombia, where she is facing extradition to the United States.  

According to a press release, the day Fiore was arrested (May 17, 2019), he was going to graduate school with a nursing degree. On May 20, 2019, a judge granted Fiore’s release “on conditions.” On May 24, 2019, and August 22, 2019, grand juries indicted Fiore on pornography charges.

On May 21, 2019, a judge ordered Fiore be detained, once learning he had violated the terms of his release conditions.

A jury indicted Fiore on Murder for hire charges on August 13, 2020. On September 15, 2020, a jury also indicted Fiore on conspiracy to kidnap and murder an individual in another country; and three more child pornography charges.  

Sean Fiore plead guilty on October 14, 2021, to conspiracy to kidnap and murder a person overseas; Murder for hire; Conspiracy to produce child pornography, and possession of child pornography.

On March 25, 2022, Fiore had a sentence hearing; court was adjourned before a decision was made. Fiore is due back in court the first week of April 2022 for sentencing and faces life in prison.

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