Alexandria Man Pleads Guilty to Receipt of Child Pornography

ALEXANDRIA, Va. – Bruno Ivan Gonzales, 39, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty yesterday to charges of receipt of child pornography.

According to the statement of facts filed with the plea agreement, between January and March 2015, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) identified an Internet Protocol address near Alexandria that was downloading child pornography via a peer-to-peer network. Based on that investigation, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant on a home where Gonzales lived. During the search, HSI agents seized several computer devices. Two desktop computers were found to contain child pornography, and forensic analysis of the devices revealed more than one hundred videos of child pornography and data destruction software. The analysis also confirmed that these devices had been used to download child pornography using a peer-to-peer program. When interviewed, Gonzales admitted to using the computers to receive child pornography.

Gonzales waived indictment and pleaded guilty to a criminal information on February 23, 2017. He faces a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 25, 2017. The maximum statutory sentence is prescribed by Congress and is provided here for informational purposes, as the sentencing of the defendant will be determined by the court based on the advisory Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

Dana J. Boente, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, and Clark E. Settles, Special Agent in Charge of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Washington, D.C., made the announcement after the plea was accepted by U.S. District Judge James C. Cacheris. Special Assistant U.S. Attorney James E. Burke IV is prosecuting the case.

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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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.justice.gov/psc.

A copy of this press release may be found on the website of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia. Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia or on PACER by searching for Case No. 1:17-cr-26.