Juneau Man Sentenced to Five Years in Federal Prison for the Distribution of Child Pornography

Anchorage, Alaska – Acting U.S. Attorney Bryan Schroder announced today that a Juneau man was sentenced to federal prison for the distribution of child pornography.

Gilberto Valadez-Garcia, 40, a citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by Chief U.S. District Judge Timothy M. Burgess. Valadez-Garcia was sentenced to five years imprisonment for a single count of distribution of child pornography. Upon the completion of his prison term, Valadez-Garcia must complete a 20-year term of supervised release.

Assistant U. S. Attorney Jack S. Schmidt, who prosecuted the case, informed the court that Valadez-Garcia became the subject of a federal investigation after federal law enforcement officials had downloaded child pornography from Valadez-Garcia through the use of a peer to peer (P2P) file sharing program. Agents downloaded 12 videos from the defendant containing images of prepubescent minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Agents executed a search warrant at the defendant’s employer, as Valadez-Garcia was actively downloading images of child pornography using the employer’s internet service. A subsequent search of Valadez-Garcia’s computer revealed 69 images and 47 videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. In an interview, Valadez-Garcia admitted to downloading the images and videos located on his computer and admitted to using a P2P program that distributed the images to others. Valadez-Garcia further admitted that he knew it was illegal to view, possess, and distribute child pornography, but that he did not expect that it would be investigated.

The charges against Valadez-Garcia are the result of an investigation conducted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).

This prosecution is part of the Department of Justice ongoing Project Safe Child (PSC) initiative. In May 2006, DOJ launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state, and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the internet, identify and rescue victims and to educate the public about safe Internet use, thereby reducing the risk that children might fall prey to online sexual predators. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of Alaska.