El Paso man sentenced to 20 years for receiving, distributing child pornography
EL PASO, Texas — An El Paso man was sentenced to 20 years in federal prison Thursday for receiving and distributing child pornography, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Ignacio Gallegos, 27, was also ordered to be placed on supervised release for 10 years after completing his prison term. On Jan. 5, Gallegos pleaded guilty to receiving and distributing child pornography, and possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of children.
Gallegos has remained in federal custody since HSI special agents assigned to the Cyber Crimes Group arrested him May 28, 2015.
“This significant prison sentence sends a sobering message to child predators who are under the mistaken impression they can hide in cyberspace,” said Waldemar Rodriguez, special agent in charge of HSI El Paso. “HSI has the tools and training to identify, arrest and help remove these individuals from our society.”
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ian Hanna, Western District of Texas, prosecuted this case.
This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 14,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2015, nearly 2,400 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.
HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196.
Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.
For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
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