HSI, partner probe lands unlawfully present child predator in federal prison

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. — Alfredo Velazquez-Hernandez, an unlawfully present citizen of Mexico, was sentenced by the U.S. District Court for the Western District of Missouri’s Southern Division to 36 months in the Federal Bureau of Prisons followed by three years of supervised release for one count of transfer of obscene material to a minor following a Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Springfield, joint law enforcement partner investigation.

On March 23, 2021, HSI Springfield initiated an investigation into three people, including Velazquez-Hernandez, for enticement and sexual exploitation of a juvenile. The three suspects lived in the same mobile home park as the victim did. On Feb. 22, 2021, the Springfield Police Department received an initial report of an adult male having a sexual relationship with a 12-year-old victim and using internet apps to communicate with the juvenile. During a forensic interview, the minor victim identified multiple suspects, including Velazquez-Hernandez and two others. On April 1, 2021, HSI Springfield helped execute a state search warrant at the suspects’ residence. All three subjects were arrested and indicted in the Western District of Missouri’s Southern Division on charges involving sexual exploitation of children, coercion/enticement of a female, materials constituting/containing child pornography, and transfer of obscene materials to minors.

Alejandro Velazquez-Hernandez was sentenced on Aug. 16, 2022, to 210 months imprisonment for possession of child pornography, production of child pornography and sexual exploitation of children. He is an undocumented noncitizen from Mexico and the brother of Alfredo Velazquez-Hernandez.

The case is still pending for the third subject, Marlon Perez.

This is an HSI-led investigation along with the assistance of the Southwest Missouri Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Springfield Police Department and the Greene County Sheriff’s Office.

HSI is 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 more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 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.

Learn more about HSI’s mission to combat child exploitation in your community on Twitter @HSIKansasCity.