FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE |
ANGELA DODGE |
June 5, 2012 |
PUBLIC AFFAIRS OFFICER |
(713) 567-9388 |
Channelview Resident Sent to Prison for Possessing Child Pornography
HOUSTON – Elisio Gonzalez Jr., 30, has been sentenced to a 51-month term of imprisonment for possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Gonzalez entered a plea of guilty to the charges on Nov. 16, 2011.
Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison ordered Gonzalez serve a total of 51 months in prison which will be followed by a 10-year-term of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. In rejecting a request by Gonzalez for probation, Judge Ellison said he was considering the harm done to the victims of the child pornography images.
The investigation began when inspectors with the U.S. Postal Inspection Service (USPIS) investigated a child pornography Internet bulletin board - a private, members-only website where members were identified by their level of membership and involvement in the board (administrator, moderator, trusted member, etc). Members posted preview images and links to offsite file sharing websites where members could download the described files and open them using a password. The files are categorized by file type, age and content. Approximately 90% of the board activity centered on nude postings of children under the age of 18.
In March 2008 and September 2008, federal agents seized the server associated with the bulletin board and were able to identify the members. Agents subsequently identified a member using the screen name “panchovilla” which was traced to Gonzalez in Channelview, Texas.
On July 15, 2009, agents executed a federal search warrant at the Channelview residence, at which time Gonzalez told agents he did use the screen name “panchovilla” to access a bulletin board but that he did not think it was perverted. A desktop computer, containing three hard drives, was seized and later determined to contain approximately 300,000 images of child pornography and child erotica.
Gonzalez was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
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."
The charges against Gonzalez were the result of an investigation conducted by the USPIS. The case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Robert Stabe.