West Covina Man Pleads Guilty to Distributing Child Pornography

LOS ANGELES – Herbert Redholtz, a 74-year-old West Covina man, pleaded guilty today to five federal charges for knowingly distributing, receiving, and possessing hundreds of images and videos of sexually explicit material involving children, including infants and toddlers.

According to court documents, Redholtz pleaded guilty to two counts of distribution of child pornography, two counts of receipt of child pornography, and one count of possession of child pornography. The defendant remains free on $20,000 bond.

Redholtz admitted in his plea agreement that he knowingly distributed, received, and possessed child sexual abuse material (CSAM) using his personal email account from at least April 2014 to November 2014. His email account contained approximately 448 images and 109 videos depicting sexually explicit content involving children, as well as 402 images and 25 videos depicting child erotica.

Furthermore, Redholtz’s email account contained approximately 1,109 emails containing evidence of similar images sent to or from his email address. The defendant admitted that he knew the production of such visual depictions involved minors, including victims under the age of 12 years old being used for sexual acts, including infants and toddlers.

United States District Judge Mark C. Scarsi scheduled an October 7 sentencing hearing, at which time Redholtz will face a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in federal prison for each child pornography distribution and receipt count, and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for each count charged.

The case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and the United States Postal Inspection Service. Assistant United States Attorneys Nisha Chandran and Amanda B. Elbogen are prosecuting the case.

Redholtz was initially charged in Los Angeles Superior Court after his arrest in March 2021 for allegedly possessing CSAM. That charge was dismissed to allow the federal case against Redholtz to proceed.

Redholtz’s guilty plea marks a significant victory for law enforcement in their efforts to combat child exploitation and hold those responsible accountable for their crimes.

The case is a stark reminder that child predators can be found in all walks of life, and that law enforcement will continue to work tirelessly to identify and prosecute those who seek to harm children.

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