CALIFORNIA MAN SENTENCED FOR CONSPIRACY TO DISTRIBUTE AND RECEIVE CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

TALLAHASSEE, FLORIDA – Nelson Omar Aguilar-Villalobos, 21, of Oakland, California, was sentenced to five years in prison after previously pleading guilty to conspiracy to distribute, receive, and possess child pornography. The sentence was announced by John P. Heekin, United States Attorney for the Northern District of Florida.

According to court records, Aguilar-Villalobos was communicating with other individuals using social media regarding the exchange of child pornography. Aguilar-Villalobos specifically requested access to a link of child pornography that contained videos of adults engaging in sexual acts with prepubescent children. Aguilar-Villalobos’ prison sentence will be followed by five years’ supervised release.

U.S. Attorney Heekin said: “There is no greater responsibility than the protection of our most vulnerable, our children. Thanks to the outstanding work of our federal and state law enforcement partners in the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, this sick individual was stopped before he could victimize more children.  My office will continue to work tirelessly to investigate and aggressively prosecute those who commit these heinous crimes.”

“This sentence underscores the critical importance of finding and holding these online predators to account for the evil they perpetuate online against children,” said Homeland Security Investigations Tallahassee Assistant Special Agent in Charge Nicholas Ingegno. “We are committed to working with our law enforcement partners to identify the dark corners of the web these predators lurk in and prosecute them for inflicting unimaginable harm on our children.”

“This case represents what’s possible when agencies unite with a common mission,” said Sheriff Walt McNeil. “This also shows the commitment from our Human Exploitation and Trafficking (HEAT) Unit, holding accountable those who exploit children.”

“The United States Marshals Service stands committed to working with our law enforcement partners to apprehend the heinous offenders who attempt to prey on our Nation’s most vulnerable population,” said Greg Leljedal, Acting United States Marshal for the Northern District of Florida.

The conviction and sentence were the result of a joint investigation by the Department of Homeland Security and the Leon County Sheriff’s Office, with assistance from the United States Marshal Service. The case was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Meredith L. Steer.

This case is part of Operation Take Back America (https://www.justice.gov/dag/media/1393746/dl?inline) a nationwide initiative that marshals the full resources of the Department of Justice to repel the invasion of illegal immigration, achieve the total elimination of cartels and transnational criminal organizations (TCOs), and protect our communities from the perpetrators of violent crime. Operation Take Back America streamlines efforts and resources from the Department’s Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Forces (OCDETFs) and Project Safe Neighborhood (PSN).

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 and led by the U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), it 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.

The United States Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Florida is one of 94 offices that serve as the nation’s principal litigators under the direction of the Attorney General.  To access public court documents online, please visit the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Florida website. For more information about the United States Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Florida, visit http://www.justice.gov/usao/fln/index.html.