South Texas man pleads guilty to downloading sadistic child pornography videos

MCALLEN, Texas — A South Texas man pleaded guilty Thursday to receiving child pornography, announced by 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).  

Ruben James Rios, from San Juan, Texas, who remains in custody, pleaded guilty to one count of receiving child pornography.

According to court documents, Rios came to the attention of law enforcement beginning Feb. 8 following an investigation into persons using the Internet to traffic child pornography. HSI was able to locate and identify a computer that someone used to receive child pornography movies through the peer-to-peer network on the Internet. The investigation revealed that the computer was located in a residence in San Juan.

On May 27, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at that residence where they seized a laptop computer and various external storage media devices. A forensic examination on the devices revealed 147 child pornography movies involving clearly young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These movies included children under the age of 12 engaged in sadistic conduct and acts of violence. Some of these movies are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Rios admitted he downloaded child pornography from the Internet onto his computer and external storage media devices.

U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez set sentencing for Nov. 19. At that time, Rios could face a minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex Benavides and Kimberly Ann Leo, 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 12,000 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 2014, more than 2,300 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. HSI is a founding member and current chair 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.