Family Victims of Child Porn Criminal Salas Urge Others to Speak Out

The family and victim of Salvador Salas Jr.'s child pornography crimes spoke to Chief U.S. District Court Judge Scott Skavdahl during the sentencing hearing on Thursday.

The family also issued this statement after Skavdahl sentenced Salas to 170 years imprisonment:

"Our family never expected to be in this situation -- Salvador Salas Jr. was a trusted family friend. We didn't know what kind of monster he was. To other families who find themselves in similar situations -- I would say, 'You are your child's voice. Never give up on getting justice for your child. Fight for them - stomp your feet and scream it if you must - just be their voice.'

"Our family wants to thank the Law Enforcement Agencies that were involved in the investigating of this case, the Jury for having listened to the evidence and returning a guilty verdict, the United States Attorney's Office for prosecuting this case, and the Court for sentencing Salvador Salas Jr. today.

"We feel good about the sentence that Salvador Salas Jr. received today. He will be in prison for the rest of his life; he is one more child predator off the streets and he will never be able to hurt another child again. Now our family can begin healing."