Bishop Man Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Matthew Victor Hernandez, 27, of Bishop, has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey sentenced Hernandez to 84 months in prison to be immediately followed by a 10-year-term of supervised release during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

On Sept. 3, 2014, authorities began investigating Hernandez for allegations involving the sexual abuse of a minor girl. The victim was identified, confirmed the abuse and also reported receiving inappropriate and threatening text messages from Hernandez. A forensic examination of Hernandez’s phone led to the discovery of more than 175 images and nine videos of children involved in sexual explicit conduct. Law enforcement also located several text messages Hernandez sent to the minor girl threatening to kill her if she reported the abuse. 

At the time of his arrest, Hernandez was in possession of second phone. A forensic examination of this phone led to the discovery of more than 195 images of children involved in sexual explicit conduct.

Hernandez admitted to possessing the images and sending the threatening text messages to the minor girl.

He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The charges against Hernandez were the result of an investigation conducted by FBI, Texas Rangers and the Corpus Christi Police Department—Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, 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."