Houston Man Sent to Prison for Producing Child Pornography

HOUSTON – Luis M. Gonzalez, 53, has been ordered to federal prison for nearly 27 years following his conviction of production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Gonzalez pleaded guilty Jan. 12, 2015.

Late yesterday, U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal ordered he serve a total of 320 months in federal prison. Following his prison term, he will be on supervised release for the rest of his life and must register as a sex offender.  In handing down the sentence, Judge Rosenthal considered evidence that Gonzalez had sexually assaulted two minor girls.

The investigation began in January 2014 when FBI agents downloaded videos containing child pornography from a computer later identified and located at the residence of Gonzalez in Houston.

On Feb. 28, 2014, a federal search warrant was executed, at which time Gonzalez admitted to using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download child pornography and told the agents they would find images and videos of child pornography on his computer equipment. Gonzalez also admitted he produced pictures of child pornography involving an underage girl.

A forensic exam was conducted which resulted in the discovery of images of child pornography on two hard drives. Agents found approximately 69 videos of child pornography, some of which depicted the penetration of a minor under the age of five and bondage. Agents also discovered approximately 66 images of child pornography that Gonzalez had produced. The camera used to produce these images was also found during the search.

The charges against Gonzalez were the result of an investigation conducted by the Houston office of the FBI. Gonzalez was arrested on the federal charges in February 2014. He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."

The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherri Zack and Robert Stabe.