Editor’s note: This story contains descriptions of sexual abuse and may be upsetting to some readers. Please see the bottom of this story for additional resources.
A former American University student was sentenced to 71 months, almost 6 years, in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material and recording women in campus bathrooms, the Justice Department, FBI and Metropolitan Police Department announced in a press release Wednesday.
Kyle Blanco, 21, of Orlando, Florida, pleaded guilty on August 17, 2023, to one federal and one D.C. criminal charge. A federal judge in D.C. also ordered him to serve 10 years of supervised release after his prison time and to pay $5,000 in restitution to a victim who was identified by investigators in one of the child sexual abuse materials.
In an email to the AU community Tuesday, Chief Financial Officer, Vice President and Treasurer Bronté Burleigh-Jones announced the arrest, but did not name Blanco.
“The student was barred from campus in April 2022 and was ultimately dismissed from the university later that year,” Burleigh-Jones wrote. A LinkedIn account in Blanco’s name said he began at AU in August 2021 after attending AdventHealth University in Orlando for a year.
It was the first message from the University about the case.
“Information about this matter was handled confidentially to maintain the integrity of the investigation,” Burleigh-Jones said. “The community members affected by this matter were updated during the investigation and provided support.”
Blanco signed court documents saying he acquired sexually explicit photos and videos of children dating back to 2013, and that on March 15, 25 and 30, 2022, he “secretly or surreptitiously” recorded three women in bathrooms on AU’s campus.
The AU Police Department searched Blanco’s McDowell Hall room on April 5, 2022, after a woman caught him recording her without her consent in a McDowell bathroom six days earlier, according to a statement of facts written by prosecutors. Blanco signed the statement, saying that it was true and accurate.
When police opened his laptop to record its model and serial number, a photo of another woman in a campus bathroom was open on the screen, the statement said. The photo led police to search Blanco’s computer, where they discovered a photo of a third woman in an AU bathroom.
Police also found more than 1,000 photos and videos depicting the sexual abuse of children on Blanco’s computer. The case was investigated by the FBI–MPD Child Exploitation and Human Trafficking Task Force, according to the press release.
A forensic examiner tried to search Blanco’s phone in October 2022, but found that it had been “fully wiped remotely … in an effort to willfully obstruct or impede the administration of justice” on April 6, 2022, a day after it was seized by AUPD, prosecutors said.
Blanco was released from custody on bond without paying collateral after his first court appearance on May 31, 2023, according to the conditions of his release. A judge ordered him to participate in a high intensity supervision program in Florida.
Prosecutors and police said Blanco violated his release conditions a week later “by downloading an application frequently used to access child pornography anonymously and by clearing the web history on his phone.”
He surrendered to U.S. Marshals in Florida in June 2023 and has remained in custody since.
In a Jan. 16, 2024, letter to the judge after Blanco’s plea, prosecutors requested a sentence of 78 months — seven months more than he was given — followed by 20 years of supervised release — double what he was ordered.
“The fact that this is an ongoing course of conduct is significant,” prosecutors wrote in the letter, “because it demonstrates that the Defendant did not suffer a temporary lapse in judgment, nor did he merely make one mistake in the case that has brought him before this Court.”
Students who have experienced sexual assault or harassment can seek support through confidential resources such as the University’s Center for Well-Being Programs and Psychological Services, the Student Health Center, the Kay Spiritual Life Center or the following hotlines:
- Collegiate Assistance Program: 1-855-678-8679
- Rape, Abuse, Incest, National Network (RAINN) anonymous chat
- RAINN hotline: 1-800-656-4673
- DC Rape Crisis Center: 202-333-7273
Non-confidential resources include the University’s Title IX Office and AUPD.
This article was edited by Tyler Davis, Abigail Turner and Abigail Pritchard. Copy editing done by Luna Jinks.
