The person behind the failed assassination attempt on former Argentine president Cristina Kirchner has been sentenced to over four years in prison for the possession and distribution of images of child abuse.

Fernando Sabag Montiel was found to be in possession of a memory card that held 17 image files and 102 video files. All the content contained explicit material of children under the age of 13.

It was also found that Montiel had sent explicit material over the social media platform Instagram on three occasions in 2021. 

The sentence was given after a summary trial brought by the Special Prosecutorial Unit for Computer Crimes and Contraventions (UFEDyCI), led by prosecutor Daniela Dupuy. The unit analyzed Sabag Montiel’s phone, SD card, social media accounts, and IPs. Following that, the defendant confessed to the crimes. The Buenos Aires City court reached an agreement with him and sentenced him to four years and three months in prison. 

The case was investigated using advanced digital tools by the UFEDyCI. Buenos Aires City Attorney General, Juan Bautista Mahiques, described it as “an example of an effective institutional response.”

“There is no room for impunity for crimes that threaten the integrity of children and adolescents,” Mahiques said. “This ruling demonstrates that the City’s justice system is prepared to investigate complex crimes with modern tools and highly trained personnel,” he added.

Investigators found the material when they were searching the defendant’s property, following his failed assassination attempt on Cristina Kirchner on September 1, 2022, outside of her Buenos Aires City residence in the Recoleta neighborhood.

On that evening, Vice President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner was greeting a crowd of fervent supporters gathered outside her apartment building. Amid the cheers and camera flashes from attendees, Montiel pushed his way through the densely packed crowd. Without warning, he drew a handgun, aimed it directly at Kirchner’s forehead, and pulled the trigger. 

Miraculously, the weapon failed to discharge. The attempted assassination sent shockwaves through Argentina and beyond. Sabag Montiel was immediately subdued by onlookers and security personnel, and taken into custody at the scene. During last year’s trial regarding the case, Montiel claimed he tried to kill Kirchner in “an act of justice.”