South Texas man sentenced to maximum of 10 years in federal prison for possessing more than 36,000 child pornography images

LAREDO, Texas — A south Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to serve the maximum 10 years in federal prison following his conviction for possessing child pornography.

This sentence was 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), with the assistance of the Webb County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office.

Oscar Herrera III, 42, of Laredo, was sentenced Dec. 8 by U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo to 120 months in federal prison. Herrera was further ordered to pay restitution to three known victims and will serve the rest of his life on supervised release after he completes his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet.

The judge took into consideration that Herrera possessed more than 36,000 images of child pornography on several media devices and handed him the statutory maximum sentence of 10 years. Additional information was also presented, including a statement by one of the victims in the case which was read in court.

According to court documents, when Herrera pleaded guilty in March, the court heard that an investigator with the Webb County Sheriff’s Office, while using peer-to-peer software, was able to successfully download various files containing child pornography from an Internet Protocol address associated with Herrera.

In November 2014, HSI special agents executed a search warrant at Herrera’s residence, at which time they seized various electronic devices. A preliminary forensic analysis on those devices led to an initial discovery of 3,270 images of child pornography and 444 videos containing child pornography. Further investigation of additional media devices led to the total discovery of nearly four terabytes of images and video. Herrera admitted he downloaded and viewed videos of child pornography and that he knew that it was wrong.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher A. dos Santos, 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 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.