Sacramento Man Charged with Attempting to Produce Child Pornography

SACRAMENTO, Calif. — A federal grand jury returned a four-count indictment against Robert Charles Chavez, 29, of Sacramento, on Thursday, June 11, 2015, charging him with one count of attempted production of child pornography and three counts of receiving child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

According to court documents, in January 2014, Chavez offered to pay a person approximately $66 if that person would sexually abuse a child and allow him to watch the abuse via webcam. In addition, between March 2, 2015, and March 18, 2015, Chavez used the Internet to download images of prepubescent children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Chavez is scheduled to be arraigned today at 2:00 p.m. before U.S. Magistrate Judge Kendall J. Newman.

This case was investigated by the Sacramento Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, a federally and state-funded task force managed by the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office with agents from federal, state, and local agencies. The Sacramento ICAC investigates online child exploitation crimes, including child pornography, enticement, and sex trafficking. Assistant U.S. Attorney Brian A. Fogerty is prosecuting the case.

If convicted of attempted production of child pornography, Chavez faces a maximum statutory penalty of 30 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. If convicted of receipt of child pornography, he faces a maximum statutory penalty of 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Any sentence, however, would be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables. The charges are only allegations; the defendant is presumed innocent until and unless proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.

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 those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.