Physical therapist sent child pornography to KCPD undercover officer

KANSAS CITY — A physical therapist who owns a clinic in California was convicted in federal court this week of distributing child pornography, according to the U.S. attorney.

Esteban E. Manale, 47, of Hacienda Heights, California, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Beth Phillips to 12 years in federal prison without parole.

Manale, the owner of a physical therapy clinic in Bellflower, California, pleaded guilty on May 3, 2024, to three counts of distribution of child pornography. Manale admitted that on three separate occasions in August 2022, he sent images of child pornography to an undercover FBI task force officer who he believed was a Missouri woman he met online through a dating app had.

Manale originally contacted a woman in Missouri in August 2022 as part of a dating application. He told her that he worked at a physical therapy clinic and dealt primarily with athletes, including underage women who were cheerleaders and volleyball players. He stated that he was into the jocks and liked to flirt with any girls who came to the clinic and revealed that he had sex with patients at the clinic. He stated that he liked children and had slept with a 13-year-old girl he met on the beach. He discussed his fascination with Ted Bundy and said he wanted to “strangle a little boy with a rope,” “play with a knife,” and “rape a young, virgin girl while her mother watches me” while the mother is tied up.

The Missouri woman contacted law enforcement. An undercover agent assumed her identity and continued to communicate with Manale. In these conversations, Manale told the undercover officer that he had sexual contact with teenagers “about 10 times,” defining them as those between the ages of 10 and 13, and claimed also sexual contact “with older teenagers and approximately those in their 20s.” to have had. In a statement, Manale claimed that he visited malls on weekends to “hunt” for young, cute girls.

Manale discussed his desire to come to Kansas City to meet the undercover officer’s alleged eight-year-old niece and have her record the encounter. From August 22, 2022 to November 9, 2022, he sent images of child pornography to the undercover agent via social media.

On December 14, 2022, police officers executed a search warrant at Manale’s residence and seized three cell phones. Two of the phones were hidden on the bathroom vanity, in a small, hard-to-reach room. Investigators found 507 images and 154 videos of child pornography on these two cell phones.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Maureen A. Brackett. It was investigated by the FBI, the Kansas City, Missouri, Police Department, and the Los Angeles, California, Sheriff’s Department.