Robstown Man Sent to Prison for Distributing Child Pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 37-year-old Robstown man has been ordered to federal prison following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jorge Betancourt, of Robstown, pleaded guilty March 1, 2016.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head took into consideration Betancourt’s statement in court that he understood how the peer-to-peer software worked and that he intended to distribute the material. Betancourt was handed a 180-month-sentence. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender and will serve 15 years of supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet.

At the time of his plea, the court heard that the case began when a detective with the Corpus Christi Police Department was able to successfully download various files containing child pornography from an IP address that was associated with Betancourt. As a result, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was contacted to assist in the investigation.

In June 2015, authorities executed a search warrant at Betancourt’s residence, at which time they seized several digital devices.  Forensic analysis on the digital devices revealed more than 530 videos and more than 540 images of child pornography.  Betancourt admitted to using peer-to-peer software to download child pornography for approximately 11 years.

Betancourt was arrested on the federal charges in October 2015 and has been in custody since that time where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The charges against Betancourt are the result of an investigation conducted by the Corpus Christi Police Department-Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force with the assistance of Homeland Security Investigations.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, 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."