West Texas man sentenced to more than 11 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography

LUBBOCK, Texas — A West Texas man was sentenced last week to more than 11 years in federal prison for distributing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John Parker of the Northern District of Texas.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Ambrose Ledezma, 24, of San Angelo, Texas, was sentenced last week to 135 months in federal prison. Ledezma pleaded guilty in December 2016 to one count of distributing child pornography. Ledezma was remanded to custody following his sentencing hearing.

According to documents filed in his case, Ledezma used Kik, an instant messenger software application that operates over the internet, to send and receive messages. On April 15, 2015, Ledezma used Kik to distribute two images of child pornography to a Kik group named “Only For Kid Porn.” Each of the images distributed to this group by Ledezma depicts a prepubescent female engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Ledezma had obtained these images over the internet by searching for images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy 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.