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Press Release

Mexican National Sentenced for Possession of Child Pornography

For Immediate Release
U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas

LAREDO, Texas – Leobel Fuentes-Piedras, 22, of Puebla, Mexico, has been ordered to prison following his conviction of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.  Fuentes-Piedras pleaded guilty Dec. 11, 2014.

Today, U.S. District Judge George P. Kazen, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Clark a sentence of 84 months in federal prison to be immediately followed by a 15-year-term of supervised release. He will also be required to register as a sex offender.

In May 2014, the Texas Attorney General’s Office received information from Facebook that possible Child pornography was being uploaded to a Facebook account. The IP address was verified and law enforcement executed a search warrant at the identified location. At that time, law enforcement seized computer devices and interviewed Fuentes-Piedras.

He admitted to uploading child pornography through his computer and iPhone to Facebook accounts so he could access them from anywhere. Forensics analysis ultimately identified 54 shared files were consistent with child pornography.

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

Homeland Security Investigations and the Webb County Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation.

The arrest of Fuentes-Piedras was a result of Operation Child Guardian, which was launched by the Webb County Sheriff’s Office in 2009. The success of these investigations have put dozens of suspected child predators behind bars.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Christopher S. Coker, 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."

 

Updated April 1, 2016

Topic
Project Safe Childhood