Rodrigo Garcia-Fuentes, a 30-year-old resident of McAllen, Texas, has been sentenced to federal prison for receiving child pornography videos, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick.
Garcia-Fuentes pleaded guilty to the crime on June 2, 2017, and was subsequently sentenced to 70 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Randy Crane.
The sentence is a result of an investigation that began on April 4, 2016, into persons using the Internet to traffic in child pornography. A special agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified a computer as offering to participate in the receipt of child pornography videos through a peer-to-peer network on the Internet.
On July 29, 2016, HSI agents executed a federal search warrant at Garcia-Fuentes’ residence, during which time they seized a computer. A forensic examination on the computer revealed 650 videos and 658 images of child pornography involving minor children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These videos included children under the age of 12 involved in sadistic conduct and other depictions of violence.
Garcia-Fuentes admitted to downloading and viewing child pornography from the Internet, thereby receiving the child pornography found on his computer. He also admitted to having been downloading child pornography for approximately four years.
As a result of the sentence, Garcia-Fuentes will be required to register as a sex offender and pay restitution to the victims in the amount of $62,500. He will also be on supervised release for the remainder of his life following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet.
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. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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