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Man Who Once Received Youth Tribute Now Facing Child Sex Imagery Charges

  • Thursday, July 17, 2025
Gabriel Montesino Corzo
Gabriel Montesino Corzo

A search of the cell phone of a man who was arrested on the UTC campus in April has turned up what police termed "child abuse imagery."

Gabriel Jose Montesinos Corzo is charged with sexual exploitation of children.

UTC Police said on April 17, Corzo was arrested at the UTC Library at 7:42 p.m. for aggravated criminal trespass. The same day, he was arrested for fondling and aggravated criminal trespass at Lockmiller Apartments II for an incident on April 12.

Police said they found on his phone images of children performing sex acts on adults and of adults performing sex acts on children.

Police said the items, including photos and videos, were on a Telegram account.

An officer suspended the investigation, "noting there were several thousand additional files to be examined."

The officer said he located 32 images that related to unlawful photography of children or sexual abuse and exploitation of children. He said, "This was uncovered after searching less than 20 percent of the device's data."

Corzo said in a 2024 profile in VoyageATL that he is an artist who was born in Peru, but grew up in Chattanooga.

He said in the article, "United Way of Greater Chattanooga awarded me as the Youth Volunteer of the year in 2013 for my contributions in Community Outreach & Keynote Speaking Events at Churches & Schools."

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