San Juan Man Heads to Prison After Downloading Sadistic Child Pornography Videos

McALLEN, Texas – A 29-year-old resident of San Juan has been ordered to federal prison for nearly 20 years following his conviction of receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Ruben James Rios pleaded guilty Sept. 3, 2015.

Today, U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez took into consideration the nature of the videos in the defendant’s collection, which consisted of children primarily  between the ages of 10-14 and as young as three, and handed Rios a sentence of 235 months. The sentence will be immediately followed by 10 years of supervised release during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. Additional information was also presented today, including the fact that Rios enjoyed watching videos that he described as providing a “shock and awe” factor, including one particular video in which a minor female child was raped and beaten to the point where it appeared she had died. There was additional testimony regarding the calculated steps Rios took in acquiring the child pornography in his collection, including the specific search terms he would use and his previewing of videos prior to actual downloading. There was also evidence presented concerning the fact that he had downloaded a browser which would be used to conceal his identity from law enforcement while browsing the Internet. 

Rios came to the attention of law enforcement following an investigation which began Feb. 8, 2015, into persons using the Internet to traffic in child pornography. A special agent with Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) was able to locate and identify a computer as offering to participate in the receipt of child pornography movies through the peer-to-peer network on the Internet. Through the investigation, it was determined that the computer was located in a residence in San Juan.

On May 27, 2015, authorities executed a search warrant at that residence during which time they seized a laptop computer and various external storage media devices. A forensic examination on the devices revealed a total of 147 child pornography movies involving clearly young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. These movies included children under the age of 12 engaged in sadistic conduct and acts of violence. Some of the movies are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

Rios admitted he downloaded child pornography from the Internet thereby receiving the child pornography found on his computer and external storage media devices.

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

The charges are the result of an investigation conducted by HSI.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorneys Alex Benavides and Kimberly Ann Leo, 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."