Chinese national charged with attempting to bring child pornography into the United States

McALLEN, Texas – A 45-year-old man from Suqian in the Jiangsu province of China has been indicted for transporting child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

A federal grand jury returned the one-count indictment today against Tong Sun. Already in custody following charges in a criminal complaint, he is expected to make his initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Scott Hacker in the near future.

Authorities allegedly encountered Sun illegally entering the United States in early May.

They conducted a search of Sun’s phone on May 8 and allegedly found videos containing child pornography. According to the charges, one video depicted a minor female believed to be younger than five years of age and was over three minutes in length.

If convicted, Sun faces up to 20 years in prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Border Patrol.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Peter I. Brostowin is prosecuting 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.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless convicted through due process of law.