South Texas man convicted of receiving child pornography

LAREDO, Texas — A South Texas man was convicted Tuesday of receiving child pornography.  

This conviction was announced by Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez, 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 Webb County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office. 

Jaime Gerardo Gonzalez, 26, from Laredo, Texas, pleaded guilty Aug. 8 to receiving child pornography. U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo accepted his guilty plea and set sentencing for Dec. 6.  Gonzalez faces a minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison, as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.  

According to court documents, the investigation led authorities to discover Gerardo Gonzalez was making child pornography videos available for sharing via the internet. Law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence, at which time they seized a computer hard drive which resulted in discovering 308 videos of minors engaging in sex.

Gonzalez admitted receiving and viewing child pornography, and that he had done so for several months in 2016. He further admitted he had watched adult pornography regularly, but had become bored with it.

Gonzalez remains out on bond pending his sentencing hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Bukiewicz, 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 16,000 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 2016, more than 2,600 child predators were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 800 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. HSI is a founding member 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.