A Chicopee man is facing charges following a multi-state, multi-agency sting operation related to the sexual exploitation of children.
Edgar Delvalle, 47, believed he would be meeting up Friday with an eight-year-old and a twelve-year-old at a West Springfield motel when a SWAT-like team of local and state police arrested him.
Hampden County District Attorney Anthony Gulluni said undercover investigators in New Jersey first identified Delvalle last month as an individual looking to exploit young children online.
"Through a coordinated effort between New Jersey State Police and the Massachusetts State Police Detective Unit, investigators were able to monitor those communications and develop a plan to safely intervene," Gulluni said.
Delvalle was arraigned Tuesday in Springfield District Court, charged with two counts of trafficking of a person under 18 for sexual servitude, two counts of paying for sexual conduct with a child under 13, two counts of enticement of a child under 16, two counts of felony attempt to commit rape of a child and possession of a class B substance with intent to distribute.
Prior criminal history
While Gulluni noted the defendant is presumed innocent until proven guilty, he went on to highlight Delvalle's history.
"I can confirm this individual has a significant prior criminal history involving similar offenses, those against children and is a registered Level Three sex offender [in Massachusetts]," Gulluni said.
In 2018 Delvalle was arrested after arranging to meet a woman for the purposes of engaging in sexual acts involving her young child.
"As part of that case, investigators recovered child sexual abuse material from the defendant's phone, including images involving very young children," Gulluni said.
Evidence showed that the defendant himself was directly involved in the creation of some of that material, Gulluni said.
In 2021, Delvalle pled guilty in Hampden Superior Court to multiple charges related to the sexual exploitation of minors and was sentenced to a term of 7 to 8 years in state prison.
"This was an unagreed plea hearing in which my office argued for a longer ten year sentence," Gulluni said.
Delvalle has been out since January 2025 Gulluni said, due to time served prior to his plea of guilty.
Following his release, he began a probation sentence that included conditions of GPS monitoring, a prohibition on unsupervised contact with children and a requirement to complete sex offender treatment.
Parents must also pay attention
Statistically, these kinds of cases are on the rise — and families need to pay attention, said Massachusetts State Police Colonel Geoffrey Noble.
"Parents must understand that predators are out there watching for opportunities. I urge you know what your children are doing online and who they might be interacting with," Noble said.
Delvalle's case was generated initially by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force in New Jersey Noble said. The ICACT exists in most states and in Massachusetts it's led by the state police.
"But it's a partnership," Noble said, adding that the ICAC task force in New Jersey is what lead to Delvalle's arrest.
The investigation is ongoing Noble said.
"In general, we never stop. There is no victory, there's no finish line to any of these cases," Noble said.
