A Miami man facing child pornography charges disappeared in 2011. Here’s his home now
Six days after a criminal complaint said he admitted to downloading child sexual acts, Carlos Blanco sold his house in the Westchester suburb of Miami. Expected to plead guilty to child pornography possession charges three months later, Blanco didn’t show up to the federal court hearing.
That was on Feb. 24, 2011.
The next 12 years took Blanco to three countries in two hemispheres and ended in downtown Miami, specifically the Federal Detention Center.
Blanco, 71, made his first appearance in Miami federal court Wednesday after being extradited from Spain. He’s being represented by a federal public defender as his criminal case moves forward.
Children, rape and Gnutella
FBI Special Agent Heather Armstrong wrote in the criminal complaint that she “launched a law enforcement tool” and found Internet addresses sharing child sexual act files via the Gnutella peer-to-peer network. Via an enhanced version of LiveWire, which showed where IP addresses’ locations, she said one actively sharing IP address tracked as sharing files involving toddlers, 7-to-9-year-old girls and 5-to-12-year-old boys.
A check with Comcast, Armstrong wrote, said the IP address tracked to the account at 1705 SW 83rd Ct., where public records said owner Carlos Blanco lived. The FBI and other agencies hit Blanco’s house with a search warrant on Nov. 2, 2010.
Armstrong claimed in the complaint that Blanco, after waiving his right to remain silent in writing and verbally, admitted using his desktop computer to watch and download videos and photos of child sexual acts. Blanco said he did it “to conduct research.”
What was found on his computer included a videos of girls being raped anally by boys and men.
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Selling the Westchester house and changing addresses
Nov. 4, 2010: The criminal complaint was filed against Blanco.
Nov. 8, 2010: Federal court records say Sylvia Blanco, who divorced Carlos in 2008, paid $15,000 so her ex-husband could be released on $150,000 bond. Miami-Dade County property records say Sylvia Blanco turned the house over to him by quit claim deed on the same day.
Nov. 10, 2010: Carlos Blanco sold 1705 NW 83rd Ct. for $200,000 to Francisco Nunez.
Nov. 18, 2010: Blanco was indicted on possession of child pornography and distribution of child pornography charges.
So, Blanco had that cash when Feb. 24, 2011 rolled around. He was expected to change his plea from not guilty — rare is the criminal defendant who pleads guilty at arraignment — to guilty.
Blanco didn’t appear at the hearing. He was declared a fugitive the next day.
(As for 1705 SW 83rd Ct., two $100 quit claim deed transactions in 2012 and 2015 moved the property ownership from Francisco Nunez to Michel Nunez back to Sylvia Blanco. In 2017, she put the property into the Sylvia Juana Blanco Trust.)
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Carlos Blanco, citizen of the world
Blanco was supposed to surrender all passports when released on bond. He’s also had citizenship in Cuba and Honduras, as well as the United States.
The U.S. Justice Department says Blanco skipped to Honduras and stayed there from 2011 through 2022. The department believes he moved to Spain in July 2022 until his arrest in March through the efforts of Interpol and the Spanish Civil Guard.
