Victoria Man Sentenced For Producing Child Pornography

VICTORIA, Texas – Vincent Tyler Jimenez, 32, has been ordered to prison for 25 years following his conviction of sexual exploitation of a child, more commonly referred to as production of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jimenez previously pleaded guilty July 1, 2013.

Today, Senior U.S. District Judge John D. Rainey took into consideration testimony from the government and the victims in the case. Noting the need to protect the public and to reflect the seriousness of his crime, the court then handed down the 25-year sentence. In addition to the prison term, Jimenez will be required to serve 15 years of supervised release upon the completion of his prison term and will be required to register as a sex offender.

On July 3, 2012, law enforcement in Waller County conducted an investigation into a person pretending to be a child who was soliciting children to produce pornographic images of themselves. The investigation revealed that Jimenez, while pretending to be a female juvenile, used a cell phone to text a child. Jimenez was able to convince the child to produce nude images and then send those images to Jimenez.

Over time, Jimenez learned the identity of the child’s minor sibling and began communicating with that sibling as well. Jimenez was able to convince the second sibling to also produce nude images.

At some point, the first victim resisted demands for more nude images and Jimenez then began to blackmail the victim with threats to distribute the pictures online if Jimenez did not receive new images.

The criminal activity was discovered by a parent of the children and reported to law enforcement. A state search warrant was executed on his Victoria County home, at which time a cell phone was discovered containing some of the nude images.

Homeland Security Investigations investigated.

This case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Lance Duke, 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."