An NYPD highway officer was busted Thursday in Queens for allegedly texting videos of children — some as young as 6 years old — getting sexually abused by adults, authorities said.
Yavier Julio, 35, of Long Island was indicted by a Queens County grand jury and charged with promoting a sexual performance by a child and possession of sexual performances by a child, police said.
Authorities said Julio used his cellphone to text someone a “video of a child between the ages of 3 and 6 years old engaged in a sex act with an adult” on Nov. 9, 2019.
After executing a search warrant on Nov. 22, authorities say, they found two additional videos of children being sexually abused.
The cop was released on his own recognizance after being arraigned in Queens Supreme Court on Thursday afternoon.
“The defendant […] is accused of committing a horrible breach of trust by possessing and disseminating a video that is for all intents and purposes images of a crime scene,” Queens District Attorney Melinda Katz said in a statement.
“This alleged behavior is wholly unacceptable of anyone — especially a member of law enforcement,” she said.
Julio, who joined the NYPD in 2011, was suspended without pay, officials said.
“I commend the professional actions of the NYPD investigators from the Internal Affairs Bureau and the Queens District Attorney’s Office for their work on this case,” NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea said in a statement.
Additional reporting by Julia Marsh