Former High School Softball Coach Sentenced To Over 23 Years In Prison For Child Pornography Conviction

           LAS VEGAS, Nev. – A former softball coach at Silverado High School in Henderson, Nev., has been sentenced to 284 months in federal prison and lifetime supervised release for his convictions for having sexual relations with one of the female players and using his cellular telephone camera to photograph the sexual acts, announced Daniel G. Bogden, United States Attorney for the District of Nevada.
           
            Albert Silva Hernandez, Jr., 44, of Las Vegas, was sentenced on Monday, Aug. 5, 2013, by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan.  Hernandez was convicted by a jury in April of eight counts of sexual exploitation of a minor.

            “Together with our investigative partners, we have been aggressively investigating and prosecuting persons who exploit minors for sexual purposes and use technology to further victimize these children,” said U.S. Attorney Bogden.  “If you commit such crimes, you face very serious consequences and a lengthy prison sentence.”

            According to the indictment and evidence introduced at trial, Hernandez, a softball coach for Silverado High School and for a competitive club team, had sexual relations with one of his 17-year-old players, and photographed the sexual acts with his cellular telephone camera and sent the images to the girl.  Hernandez also had the girl photograph herself naked and send those images to him by her cellular telephone. The pornographic images were produced and the text messages were exchanged between Hernandez and the victim, on Dec. 25, 2011, Jan. 29, Feb. 1, and Feb. 2, 2012.

“As this sentence makes unmistakably clear, child sex predators will receive the justice they are due for their despicable actions,” said Michael Harris, Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI) in Las Vegas. “We will continue to aggressively target those who prey upon and sexually exploit our children. We owe it to the young victims in these cases, who will carry the emotional and physical scars of these crimes for the rest of their lives.”

The case was investigated by ICE-HSI and the Clark County School District Police.  It was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Susan Cushman and Roger Yang. 

The 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."