Cameron County resident imprisoned for enticing children and alien smuggling

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 43-year-old man has been ordered to prison for enticement of a minor, possession of child pornography and transportation of undocumented aliens, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Paz Gomez-Magdaleno pleaded guilty on March 1.

U.S. District Judge Nelva Gonzales Ramos has now sentenced Gomez-Magdaleno to 60, 120 and 240 months for the transportation of undocumented aliens, possession of child pornography and enticement of a minor convictions, respectively. At the hearing, the court heard Gomez had child pornography of relatives and minors from the local community. In addition, Gomez had obtained images of child pornography from minors over the internet from interactions through various social media apps. Gomez will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Gomez will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. Restitution to the victims will be determined at a later date.

On Jan. 28, 2021, Gomez drove his tractor-trailer to the primary inspection lane at the U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita. A K-9 alerted to the vehicle indicating there were potential individuals concealed inside the trailer of the vehicle.

Upon further inspection, authorities discovered 20 undocumented aliens in the trailer and two cell phones within the vehicle.

Law enforcement obtained search warrants for the cell phones and discovered them to contain images and videos of child pornography. Authorities further discovered Gomez engaging in numerous conversations on different messaging apps.

An investigation revealed Gomez sought out minors to send him explicit photos and videos in exchange for money and gifts.

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

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance of the Border Patrol and Cameron County Sheriff’s Office.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and John Marck prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.