Sacramento Man Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography

Bruce Anthony Garcia, 42, of Sacramento, pleaded guilty to attempting to sexually exploit a minor under his care.

According to court documents, between Aug. 2, 2017, and Sept. 1, 2019, Garcia took hidden video recordings of the victim. He recorded the victim in various stages of undress, using the toilet or shower, or changing in a bedroom or the living room of the apartment they shared.

Garcia admitted that he intentionally took the images and videos, with the intent being sexual. He described how he would wait until the victim would be getting ready for bed or to take a shower, and then place a cellphone in the bathroom or bedroom. The phone would be propped up so that it would record the minor, but would either appear to be inconspicuous, as if it were being charged, or be hidden altogether.

Garcia’s child sexual abuse material collection included 110 series of known victims of child sexual abuse and 4,266 images and 426 videos of other child sexual abuse material, including images and videos showing the sexual abuse of toddlers. Several of these videos also depicted violence against the victims, including at least one depicting the bondage and torture of a prepubescent female child.

Garcia offered to trade pictures of the victim in exchange for other child sexual abuse material in a text message conversation with another person. The case is the product of an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Unit of the Sacramento Valley Hi-Tech Crimes Task Force and the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office.

Garcia is scheduled to be sentenced by U.S. District Judge Troy L. Nunley on Sept. 12, 2024. Garcia faces a minimum statutory penalty of 15 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. The actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit Justice.gov/PSC.