Skip to main content
Press Release

Bradenton Man Charged With Producing Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Middle District of Florida

Tampa, FL - United States Attorney Robert E. O'Neill announces the filing of a criminal complaint charging Heriberto Pena Salazar (24, Bradenton) with production, transportation, receipt, and possession of child pornography. If convicted, Salazar faces a mandatory minimum of 15 years, up to 30 years in federal prison for the production offense. He faces a mandatory minimum of 5 years, up to a maximum of 20 years in federal prison for both the receipt and transportation charges, and up to 10 years for the possession charge.

According to the complaint, Salazar used his cell phone to produce a video of himself sexually abusing a prepubescent female child. He then allegedly distributed that video over the Internet. The complaint also alleges that Salazar posted child pornography to a foreign image board on the Internet. According to the complaint, Salazar is from Mexico and is illegally present in the United States.

A criminal complaint is merely a formal charge that a defendant has committed a violation of the federal criminal laws, and every defendant is presumed innocent unless, and until, proven guilty.

This case was investigated by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO), the Florida Department of Law Enforcement (FDLE), the Manatee County Sheriff's Office, and the Bradenton Police Department. It will be prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Jennifer L. Peresie.

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."

Updated January 26, 2015