Dallas Man Pleads Guilty To Federal Child Pornography Offenses Involving Prepubescent Minor

DALLAS — Ulises Sandoval, 26, of Dallas, appeared this morning before U.S. District Judge Ed Kinkeade and pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography.  Sandoval, who is in custody, faces a statutory sentence of not less than 15 or more than 30 years in federal prison on the production count and a statutory maximum of 20 years in federal prison on the possession count.  In addition, each count carries a maximum statutory fine of $250,000 and up to a lifetime of supervised release.  Sentencing is set for March 5, 2014, before Judge Kinkeade.  The announcement was made today by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

According to the factual resume filed in the case, special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) received information that a person, later identified as Sandoval, was trading images of child pornography over email. They executed a search warrant at his home on September 25, 2013, and arrested him.

Sandoval admitted using his email address to join a website for the purpose of trading images and videos of child pornography, and he also admitted using email to meet individuals with a similar interest in child pornography to trade child pornography with them.  He admitted taking photographs of “Jane Doe,” who was less than seven years old at the time, while he engaged in sexually explicit conduct with her, and then sharing those images with others.

Forensic analysis located images of child pornography on Sandoval’s laptop computer.  Sandoval admitted that he had more than 2500 child pornography images and videos on his hard drive and some of those depicted sadistic and or violent conduct; 21 of the files depicted infants and toddlers.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/.  For more information about Internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”      

The investigation is being conducted by ICE HSI.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks is in charge of the prosecution.