Southeast Texas man sentenced to 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI — A southeast Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to 10 years in prison for possessing child pornography, announced 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), and the Cuero (Texas) Police Department.

George Deleon, 65, of Cuero, was sentenced to 120 months in federal prison, the statutory maximum, which is to be immediately followed by 15 years of supervised release. He pleaded guilty to the charges March 2.

Authorities learned of an allegation of sexual assault involving Deleon and a child victim on May 1, 2013. Deleon admitted to sexually assaulting the victim, at which time authorities received consent from Deleon to search his cellphone. A forensic examination of that phone led to the discovery of 96 images of children involved in sexually explicit conduct.

Deleon will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

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 10,000 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.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted the case.