HSI El Paso child exploitation case results in more than 16-year prison sentence
EL PASO, Texas – A local man was recently sentenced to 200 months in federal prison for producing child pornography, following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) El Paso special agents.
Jorge Mario Manjarrez-Reyes, 30, was also ordered to be placed on a lifetime of supervised release and pay a $5,000 assessment under the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers first encountered Manjarrez-Reyes on a peer-to-peer program where he was sharing images of child pornography. Following the execution of a search warrant at the defendant’s residence in March 2020, HSI forensically discovered about 515 images and 619 videos depicting child pornography on Manjarrez-Reyes’ electronic devices. In coordination with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), HSI later learned that Manjarrez-Reyes created one of the videos.
By pleading guilty, Manjarrez-Reyes admitted that he knowingly used and coerced a 4-year-old child to take part in sexually explicit conduct for the production of visual depictions of that abuse.
“Individuals who commit crimes against the most vulnerable in our society will be sought out and brought to justice,” said Francisco B. Burrola, special agent in charge for HSI El Paso. “HSI will continue to protect children against atrocious crimes committed against them by criminals who have no place in our communities.”
HSI El Paso’s Child Exploitation / Internet Crimes Against Children Group investigated the case.
The case is part of the Project Safe Childhood initiative and was prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Michelle Winters.
HSI is a directorate of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of over 10,400 employees consists of more than 6,800 special agents assigned to 225 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.
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