South Texas man sentenced to more than 8 years in federal prison for possessing child pornography

LAREDO, Texas — A South Texas man was sentenced Thursday to eight years and four months in federal prison for possessing 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) with assistance from the Webb County Sheriff’s Office.  

U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen sentenced Anselmo Venegas, 61, from Laredo, Texas to 100 months in federal prison to be followed by 20 years of supervised release. Upon release from prison, Venegas will also be required to register as a sex offender. Venegas pleaded guilty to the charges Oct. 15, 2014.

According to court documents, in January 2014, an investigator with the Webb County Sheriff’s Office was conducting an undercover online operation, trying to identify Internet Protocol addresses sharing child pornography on a peer-to-peer network. A unique IP address of a computer was found as sharing files of known child pornography. HSI special agents executed a search warrant at the residential address associated with that IP address. Venegas was at the residence during the search, at which time he admitted to having downloaded child pornography from the Internet and then transferring the videos to an external hard drive which he had then hidden in a tool box. A forensics exam of his laptop and other electronic devices revealed numerous videos consistent with child pornography.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonah Lee, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting 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.