Texas Man Guilty of Child Pornography Charges

ALBUQUERQUE – In a shocking turn of events, Luis Fernando Moreno, 38, of El Paso, Texas has been found guilty of producing child pornography charges in New Mexico.

According to federal court documents, Moreno pled guilty to three counts of producing visual depictions of a minor engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The charges stem from an investigation initiated by the Sunland Park Police Department after a 16-year-old victim alleged that Moreno video-recorded them while they were showering in May 2013.

The investigation revealed that images and videos of child pornography created by Moreno were found on his cellular phone and laptop computers. Moreno admitted to using his cellular phone to produce a video and an image of child pornography on March 31, 2013, and another video that included child pornography on May 10, 2013.

As a result of his guilty plea, Moreno faces a statutory mandatory minimum of 15 years and a maximum of 30 years of imprisonment as to each charge. He will also be required to register as a sex offender when he completes his prison sentence.

Moreno has been in federal custody since his arrest and remains detained pending his sentencing hearing, which has yet to be scheduled. The case was investigated by the Las Cruces office of Homeland Security Investigations, the Sunland Park Police Department, and the Las Cruces Police Department with assistance from the U.S. Marshals Service.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa A. Ong of the U.S. Attorney’s Las Cruces Branch Office is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

The case also was brought as a part of the New Mexico Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force’s mission, which is to locate, track, and capture Internet child sexual predators and Internet child pornographers in New Mexico. Anyone with information relating to suspected child predators and suspected child abuse is encouraged to contact federal or local law enforcement.

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