Anthony Michael Gonzales, Child Pornography, California 2013

Child Pornographer Sentenced to 10 Years in Prison

A 23-year-old college student from Spring Valley, California, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for his involvement in child pornography.

Anthony Michael Gonzales, 23, pleaded guilty in December 2013 to a single count of Receipt of Images of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct. He was also sentenced to five years of supervised release and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to a victim and register as a sex offender upon release from prison.

According to a complaint, from October 2011 through March of 2012, agents with Homeland Security Investigations identified an Internet Protocol address on a peer-to-peer file sharing program that was trading in files suspected of containing child pornography. The agents tracked the Internet Protocol address to Gonzales’ residence, which was located in Spring Valley, California.

In May 2012, the agents executed a search warrant on the residence and seized Gonzales’ laptop computer, which had the user name “Metatron.” A forensic examination uncovered approximately 170 videos and 22,300 images suspected of containing child pornography. On review of a sampling of at least 883 of the thousands of images, agents determined six of those images included bondage of children.

There also were images involving children who appeared to be under two years old. One DVD had approximately 100 images of child pornography. At the time of his subsequent arrest, Gonzales was a 23-year-old student who possessed a thumb drive that also contained additional images of child pornography.

Defendant Information:

• Defendant Name: Anthony Michael Gonzales
• City and State: Spring Valley, California
• Case Number: 13CR3108-H

Criminal Charges:

• Count 4 – Title 18, United States Code, Section 2252(a)(2) Receipt of Images of Minors Engaged in Sexually Explicit Conduct. Maximum penalties: Five year mandatory minimum, 20 year maximum, restitution, $250,000 fine

Sentence:

Gonzales was sentenced to 10 years in prison, five years of supervised release, and ordered to pay $5,000 in restitution to a victim.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdca/pr/child-pornographer-sentenced-10-years-prison