Former nursing assistant sentenced to 50 years on child pornography charges
Defendant drugged minors before videotaping the sexual molestation
SAN DIEGO — A former San Diego nursing assistant was sentenced Monday to 50 years in federal prison on child pornography charges, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Hector Manuel Carreon, 47, will be subject to a lifetime of supervised release upon completion of his 50-year prison term and he will be required to register as a sex offender. Carreon, who was convicted of child sexual exploitation offenses at trial last year, has been in federal custody since his arrest in June 2012.
HSI special agents took Carreon into custody while executing a federal search warrant at his residence where they found him in bed with a family member under age 10. During the search, investigators seized more than 500 images and 900 videos from multiple computers that depicted minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Three of the videos showed Carreon sexually molesting two family members who appeared to have been drugged.
"This investigation uncovered hundreds of disturbing images that repeated the sexual victimization of helpless children," said Derek Benner, special agent in charge of HSI San Diego. "HSI special agents use cutting-edge technology to search for online sexual predators in some of the darkest places on the Internet. Their work is vital to safeguarding one of our most precious resources, our children."
This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide HSI initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders and child sex traffickers. HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-347-2423 or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators.
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, 1-800-843-5678. For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI's Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page.
HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
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