Convicted sex offender heads to prison for uploading child pornography to Google accounts

McALLEN, Texas – A 38-year-old McAllen resident has been sentenced for transporting child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Oscar Ramirez Jr. pleaded guilty Oct. 23, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez has now ordered Ramirez to serve 180 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including that Ramirez had approximately 2,070 files of child pornography, of which 64 were videos. Some videos were over 20 minutes long. In handing down the prison terms, the court reviewed victim letters and noted child pornography is not a victimless crime as these victims continue to suffer lifelong consequences as a result of the abuse they suffered now memorialized on the internet. Ramirez was further ordered to pay $20,000 in restitution to known victims and 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.

The court also heard that Ramirez was previously convicted of aggravated sexual assault in 2010. He will again be ordered to register as a sex offender following this sentence.   

In July 2022, law enforcement received information involving an individual uploading multiple files of child pornography to a Google account on or about May 4, 2022. Authorities determined the IP address associated with this activity belonged to Ramirez. 

A review of the Google accounts associated with Ramirez revealed images and videos of child pornography. Ramirez also had images and videos of a nude minor victim Ramirez had recorded from outside a window as well as from a vent in the ceiling of a bathroom.

In September 2022, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant at his residence in McAllen. At that time, Ramirez identified himself in videos on the Google accounts.

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

Homeland Security Investigations Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigations Task Force conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexa D. Parcell 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 tab on that page.