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Press Release

Mission Man Ordered To Federal Prison For Child Pornography Conviction

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

McALLEN, Texas – Mission resident Jose Alaniz-Allen, 23, has been ordered to prison for nearly 19 years following his conviction of receipt of child pornography, United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson announced today. Alaniz-Allen pleaded guilty Jan. 31, 2013. 

Today, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez, who accepted the guilty plea, handed Alaniz-Allen a sentence of 225 months in federal prison, taking into consideration various sentencing enhancements. The court noted the offense involved the distribution of images for the receipt, or expectation of receipt, of a thing of value as well as the fact that some of the minors depicted in the pornographic images were vulnerable victims, being under the age of five. In handing down the sentence, Judge Alvarez stated that this crime causes a great harm to the community and individuals like Alaniz-Allen create a demand for this material. She further commented that she does not understand how anyone could gain satisfaction from watching an infant or a young child being sexually abused. Alaniz-Allen will serve five years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he is not to reside or work near schools or places where children commonly gather, have no direct contact with minors, restricted Internet access and various other conditions. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. 

Alaniz-Allen came to the attention of law enforcement following an investigation which began Sept. 14, 2012, into persons using the Internet to traffic in child pornography. A Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agent was able to locate and identify Alaniz-Allen as the owner of a computer as offering to participate in the distribution of child pornography movies through a peer-to-peer network.

On Nov. 29, 2012, a search warrant was executed at his Mission residence and a computer and various external storage media devices were seized. The forensic examination revealed 23 movies of clearly young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. The images included children under the age of 12 engaged in bondage and acts of violence. Some of the images are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Alaniz-Allen admitted he downloaded child pornography from the Internet thereby receiving and possessing the child pornography found on his computer.

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

This case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Kimberly Leo and Juan Villescas and investigated by Homeland Security Investigations, 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 30, 2015