United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner
Eastern District of California
Armona Man Indicted for Child Pornography Offense
| FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE | CONTACT: Lauren Horwood |
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July 15, 2011 |
PHONE: (916) 554-2706 |
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www.usdoj.gov/usao/cae |
usacae.edcapress@usdoj.gov |
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Docket #: 1:11-cr-00224-OWW |
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FRESNO, Calif.—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced that Armando E. Huizar, 26, of Armona, was arrested today after a federal grand jury returned an indictment charging him with receiving material involving the sexual exploitation of minors.
According to the indictment, Huizar received child pornography on his computer via the Internet. He is scheduled to be arraigned today at 1:30 p.m. in Fresno before United States Magistrate Judge Sandra Snyder.
This case is the result of Operation Direct Connect, an extensive series of investigations by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the Fresno Immigration and Customs Enforcement Office of the United States' Department of Homeland Security, the King's County Sheriff's Office and District Attorney's Office, the Madera County Sheriff's Office, and the Fresno County Sheriff's Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri is prosecuting the case.
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.
If convicted, Huizar faces a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison and a maximum of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and a lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.
The charges in the indictment are only allegations, and the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
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