FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE	CONTACT: Lauren Horwood
March 31, 2011	PHONE: (916) 554-2706
www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae	usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov

FRESNO, Calif. — United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that a grand jury sitting in Fresno returned a four-count indictment charging Jose Hernandez-Velazquez, 53, of Delano, with producing videos and images of child pornography.

According to charging documents filed in this case, Hernandez-Velazquez produced videos and images between January 2010 and February 2011, which include depictions of him engaged in sexual acts with minor victims aged three to fourteen.

"Child pornography victimizes children over and over again – starting with the initial assault, and continuing everyday for victims of this terrible trade," said Michael Toms, resident agent in charge for ICE Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Bakersfield. "HSI will continue to work closely with our colleagues here and around the world to ensure that cyberspace affords no protection for those who seek to prey upon and sexually exploit our nation's children."

This case is the result of an extensive investigation by the Bakersfield and Los Angeles U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Delano Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Brian W. Enos is prosecuting the case.

If convicted, Hernandez-Velazquez faces a minimum sentence of 15 years in prison up to a maximum of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine for each count.

The charges in an indictment are only allegations, and a defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator.

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