Charlie Hernandez, Child Pornography Production, Texas 2013

Child Safety

Corpus Christi, TX – A local man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. Charlie Hernandez, 36, was found guilty of sexual exploitation of a child and will serve 240 months behind bars.

On May 10, 2013, a Corpus Christi Police Department officer responded to a sexual assault call involving Hernandez and a juvenile female relative. The victim, who was being sexually abused by Hernandez for four years, reported that he had been taking explicit photographs of her with a cell phone.

Hernandez was arrested and admitted to the abuse as well as creating the explicit images. The cell phone was recovered during a search of his office, which led to the discovery of some of the sexually explicit images.

The victim’s mother took the stand to describe the destruction caused by Hernandez’s crimes. She explained how her child wanted to attend the hearing but was too emotionally distraught to appear. The mother also spoke of the negative effects on the emotional and financial well-being of herself, her victimized child, and other members of her family.

The victim’s mother urged the court to hold Hernandez accountable for his crime and all the pain it has caused. In determining an appropriate sentence, the court considered the lasting harm done to the victim as well as the need to protect the public from Hernandez in the future.

Hernandez has been in custody since his arrest on June 24, 2013, and will remain there pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility. This case was investigated by the Corpus Christi Police Department-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and the FBI, and prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lance Duke as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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