Fort Worth man sentenced to 20 years in federal prison on child pornography conviction

ABILENE, Texas — A Fort Worth man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in federal prison following his September guilty plea to one count of receiving child pornography and aiding and abetting.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas. This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Jose Diego Gonzales, 30, of Fort Worth, Texas, has been in custody since his arrest in July 2016 in Fort Worth.

According to documents filed in the case, in December 2015, HSI learned that an individual, later identified as Gonzales, was using the free instant messenger software, Kik, and free public WiFi in Tye, Texas, to receive and distribute child pornography.

HSI special agents executed a search warrant and obtained two cellphones; a forensic examination of one of these phones revealed 30 images of child pornography.

This investigation also identified a Dropbox file hosting service account that Gonzales used that also contained images of child pornography. The investigation revealed that the Dropbox account contained 56 images of child pornography and 279 videos of child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Juanita Fielden, Northern District of Texas, was in charge of the prosecution.

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.