Jefferson County Man Sentenced for Child Pornography Violations

                BEAUMONT, Texas – A 28-year-old Port Arthur, Texas man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for child exploitation violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

               Cesar Estuardo Hernandez-Cruz pleaded guilty on Aug. 5, 2015, to production of child pornography and was sentenced to 180 months in federal prison on Jan. 6, 2016 by U.S. District Judge Marcia A. Crone.

               According to information presented in court, in August 2014, Hernandez-Cruz attended a funeral where he met a 12-year-old minor.  Afterwards, he found the child’s profile on the social media site, Facebook and began communicating online.  Hernandez-Cruz persuaded the child to send him nude photos and asked the minor to meet him for sex.  The victim did send Hernandez-Cruz photos but refused to meet in person.  Federal agents recovered the sexually explicit photos that Hernandez-Cruz persuaded the child to produce.  Hernandez-Cruz was indicted on June 3, 2015 and charged with child pornography violations. 

               This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

            This case was investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lesley A. Bartow and Randall L. Fluke.

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