North Texas man sentenced to statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography

DALLAS — A North Texas man was sentenced Thursday to the statutory maximum of 10 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography.

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’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the police departments of Mesquite and Sherman, Texas.

Jesus Paramo, 47, from Mesquite, Texas, has been on bond since his arrest in August 2014. U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater remanded him into custody following the sentencing hearing.

This investigation began when a detective with the Sherman Police Department, working in an undercover capacity, noticed that a particular computer with a specific internet protocol address was making files of child pornography, many with Spanish names, available for sharing. Sherman PD contacted HSI, which learned that a Mesquite Police Department detective had also downloaded files containing child pornography from the same IP address.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant at a residence in Mesquite in February 2014. However, no evidence of any file-sharing computer program or child pornography was found. In fact, no one at the residence spoke Spanish.

Further investigation revealed, however, that a neighbor, Paramo, had been using this neighbor’s non-password-protected wireless router to download child pornography onto his computers. Paramo, who speaks both Spanish and English, admitted downloading at least 82 videos and 10 images of child pornography, which included images and videos of prepubescent children, infants and toddlers.

Paramo pleaded guilty in March 2016 to an information charging one count of possessing child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Lori Walker, 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.