New Jersey Man Sentenced To Ten Years In Prison For Sexual Coercion Of A Minor Over The Internet

OAKLAND – Alex Gonzalez was sentenced yesterday to 10 years in prison, announced United States Attorney Melinda Haag and FBI Special Agent in Charge David J. Johnson.

According to court documents and information presented at court, Gonzalez convinced a fifteen year old freshman from a Bay Area high school to take several explicit nude photographs of herself, and to send them to Gonzalez using an online picture-sharing application. After the victim informed Gonzalez that she no longer wished to communicate with him, Gonzalez began a campaign to punish the victim by posting her nude photographs online. Gonzalez first posted the victim’s pictures on iMGSRC.ru, a free photo-sharing website hosted in Russia, and included the victim’s name, age, and phone number with the photographs. Gonzalez then created a fake Facebook account, “friended” many of the victim’s Facebook friends, and posted the nude photographs of the victim on his Facebook wall, “tagging” the victim in each of the pictures. Finally, Gonzalez posted the images on xHamster.com, a free-access pornography website. The FBI executed a search warrant at Gonzalez’s home and uncovered a laptop computer containing more than 2,500 images and 130 videos depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Gonzalez, 22, pleaded guilty on Nov. 6, 2013 to distribution of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2), and possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B). The sentence was handed down by the Honorable Phyllis Hamilton, United States District Court Judge. Judge Hamilton also sentenced the defendant to a fifteen year period of supervised release. The defendant was immediately remanded into custody.

The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Randy Luskey and Rodney Villazor of the Northern District of California and was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.

(Gonzalez indictment )