Mexican man sentenced 6 years for possessing child pornography

BROWNSVILLE, Texas — A Mexican national was sentenced Thursday to six years in federal prison following his conviction of possessing child pornography.

U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick, Southern District of Texas announced the sentence. U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) investigated the case.

Gustavo Eduardo Diaz-Vasquez, 34, from Mexico, was sentenced 72 months in federal prison by U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez.

Diaz-Vasquez was further ordered to pay $9,000 in restitution to six known victims and will serve 10 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.

He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

At the hearing, the court read excerpts of several victim impact statements detailing how this is clearly not a victimless crime.

On Oct. 2, 2018 Diaz-Vasquez pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

According to court documents, on or about Feb. 10, 2018, Diaz-Vasquez was attempting to enter the United States through the Veteran’s Port of Entry in Brownsville when authorities conducted a search of his cell phone.

At that time, they discovered Diaz-Vasquez was in possession of child pornography on his cell phone.

A forensic analysis later revealed approximately 142 images and 346 videos of child pornography.

Diaz-Vasquez remains in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Jason Corley and Ana C. Cano, Southern District of Texas, prosecuted this case for the government.