El Paso man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography
EL PASO, Texas — A local man was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison for receiving child pornography.
This sentence resulted from an investigation by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
In addition to his prison sentence, Albert Hibbert, 44, was also ordered to pay a $1,000 fine, to supervised release for 20 years after he completes his prison sentence, and to register as a sex offender.
According to court records, the HSI El Paso’s Cyber Crimes Group identified Hibbert, who goes by the username “swelldad,” during an investigation involving suspected child pornography violations called “Operation Protego.”
On April 3, 2014, Hibbert consented to a residential search by investigators. Evidence gathered during that search included Hibbert’s laptop computer. A subsequent search of the computer revealed the presence of more than 400 images and 13 videos downloaded from the Internet depicting minors being sexually exploited.
On Jan. 22, Hibbert pleaded guilty to receiving child pornography. He has remained in federal custody since his arrest April 3, 2014.
“HSI is committed to protecting our children from individuals who exploit them for their own gratification,” said Waldemar Rodriguez, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “We will continue to work with our law enforcement partners and the U.S. attorney’s office to arrest and prosecute child predators in our community.”
The Texas Rangers assisted with this investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Almonte, Western District of Texas, prosecuted this case.
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