Former Southeast Texas firefighter sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for producing child pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A former Southeast Texas firefighter was sentenced Tuesday to 15 years in federal prison for producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) with the assistance of the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Justin Ryan Serna, 28, from Corpus Christi, was sentenced Jan. 19 by District Judge John D. Rainey to 180 months in federal prison.  He was also sentenced to serve 10 years of supervised release; and he must also register as a sex offender. Serna pleaded guilty to the charges in October 2015.

At the hearing, the victim's father gave a statement explaining how the crime affected his daughter and family.

Serna came to the attention of authorities after they discovered electronic images on a notebook computer of a juvenile female engaged in a sexual act. After further investigation, law enforcement learned Serna enticed the girl to engage in the sexually explicit conduct so he could record the event. Law enforcement identified the girl who confirmed the activities. Authorities also learned many of the communications Serna had with the girl occurred while Serna was employed as a Corpus Christi firefighter.

Serna was arrested on the federal charges in July 2015 and has been in custody since that time.  He will remain in custody pending his transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, Southern 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.