Nevada man sentenced to 30 years on federal child pornography charges
TUCSON, Ariz. – A Nevada man previously convicted of distributing sexually oriented material to minors has been sentenced to 30 years in prison for producing and distributing child pornography, following an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
Nathaniel Tejeda, 30, of Reno, Nevada, appeared for his sentencing hearing in U.S. District Court Feb. 9. He was indicted in April 2016 for producing and distributing child pornography depicting infants and toddlers.
“The details of this investigation are unimaginable, however, today’s lengthy sentence assures the community that this individual will no longer pose a threat to our most vulnerable population – our children,” said Scott Brown, special agent in charge for HSI Phoenix. “HSI will continue to tap all of the resources and tools at its disposal to protect children from these heinous sexual predators.”
According to court documents, in March 2016 HSI special agents in Nogales began investigating Tejeda after uncovering evidence he was utilizing a messenger application to distribute child pornography. Subsequently, HSI special agents discovered numerous graphic and sadistic images and video files containing sexually explicit material depicting children, many whom were infants.
The investigation revealed Tejeda also produced and shared child pornography of a 14-year-old girl he met online. On April 2, 2016, HSI Nogales coordinated with HSI Reno to take Tejeda into custody on federal child pornography charges brought by the District of Arizona. With the assistance of HSI special agents in Philadelphia, investigators were able to identify his teenage victim.
This case is a product of Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, and 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.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Carin Duryee prosecuted the case.
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