Laredo Resident Sentenced in Child Pornography Case

LAREDO, Texas – a 61-year-old Laredo man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Anselmo Venegas, 61, pleaded guilty Oct. 15, 2014.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen sentenced Venegas to 100 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by 20 years of supervised release. Upon release from imprisonment, Venegas will also be required to register as a sex offender.

In January 2014, an investigator with the Webb County Sheriff’s Office was conducting an undercover online operation, trying to identify IP 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.

Homeland Security Investigation (HSI) agents executed a search warrant for the residential address associated with that IP address. Venegas was at the residence, 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.

The arrest of Venegas was a result of Operation Child Guardian, which was launched by the Webb County Sheriff’s Office in 2009. The success of these investigations have put dozens of suspected child predators behind bars.

The prosecution is being 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."

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sonah Lee is prosecuting the case.