20-Year Illegal Resident Sentenced for Child Pornography Charge

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 52-year-old illegal alien who resided in Corpus Christi been sentenced to federal prison for possessing more than 10 thousand child pornography images, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Baldemar Cardenas-Martinez pleaded guilty May 20, 2019.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey ordered Cardenas to serve a 63-month term of imprisonment. After his sentence, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet and register as a sex offender. Not a U.S. citizen, he is expected to face removal proceedings following his sentence.

A Mexican citizen, Cardenas was originally granted a Visa which expired in 1997. He has been illegally present in the United States since that time.

The investigation began when authorities went online on a peer-to-peer network which catered to offenders sharing child pornography. Law enforcement was able to download multiple images from the device which belonged to Cardenas.

They conducted a search warrant, at which time they seized multiple electronic devices from the residence. A forensic examination of those devices revealed 10,673 child pornography files.

The Corpus Christi Police Department – Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Immigration and Custom’s Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Brittany L. Jensen is prosecuting the case, which 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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."