McAllen Man Ordered to Prison for Receiving Child Pornography Videos

McALLEN, Texas – A 26-year old resident of McAllen has been sentenced to federal prison following his conviction of one count of receipt of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Abe Martinez. Daniel Ramirez-Tobias pleaded guilty Dec. 2, 2016.

Today, U.S. District Judge Randy Crane, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Ramirez-Tobias a 72-month sentence. Following completion of his sentence, he will be on supervised release for the rest of his life, 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.

Ramirez-Tobias came to the attention of law enforcement following an investigation which began on Aug. 1, 2016, into persons using the Internet to traffic in child pornography. Authorities were able to locate and identify a computer as offering to participate in the receipt of child pornography videos through the peer-to-peer network on the Internet. Through the investigation, it was determined that the computer was located at a residence in McAllen.

On Oct. 6, 2016, authorities executed a federal search warrant at that residence, during which time they seized a desktop computer. A forensic examination on the computer revealed video files of child pornography involving children who were clearly young engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These videos include children under the age of 12 involved in sadistic conduct such as bondage, bestiality and other depictions of violence. Some of the videos are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Ramirez-Tobias admitted he downloaded and viewed child pornography from the Internet, thereby receiving the child pornography found on his computer. He further admitted to downloading and subsequently deleting approximately 100 videos of child pornography.

Previously released on bond, Ramirez-Tobias was permitted to remain on bond and voluntarily surrender to the U.S. Marshals Service on Aug. 25, 2017.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alex Benavides, 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."