Southeast Texas daycare worker, Alabama fugitive convicted of producing child pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A local Southeast Texas daycare worker and a convicted sex offender from Alabama were both convicted Wednesday of producing child pornography.

These convictions were announced by U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas. This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Custom Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations, and the Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Christina Cortez, 38, of Corpus Christi, and Matthew Harbin, 29, a convicted sex offender from Alabama and a fugitive who lived in Brownsville, Texas, both pleaded guilty Sept. 23 to producing child pornography. The pleas were accepted by Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head.

Court documents show that this case began after Harbin was identified as providing images to an undercover officer in England. Using the email address dirtysickmind@yahoo.com, Harbin provided three photos of a child clothed and not sexually posed, but that appeared to be taken at a daycare facility. Harbin told the undercover officer he had more pictures, wanted to trade and asked the undercover officer if they had a daughter and how young they were “in to.” Harbin later sent five more pictures of what appears to be the same female child, but that were sexually explicit in nature. One image depicts the child laying down on a blue mat with her dress lifted and her lower body exposed. Other images depicted an adult female’s hand making contact with a child’s genitals.

Further investigation revealed Harbin had received the images from Cortez in July 2014. In their communications, Cortez claimed to work at a daycare facility where she produced the images. Cortez admitted taking and sending the images to Harbin of the same female child involved in sexually explicit conduct. The child’s genitals appear to be the focus of all three images, one of which includes the child fondling herself.  

In their communications, both Harbin and Cortez indicated a desire to engage with children. During one conversation, Cortez told Harbin “I would love to watch us with her. 2 & half.”

The court also heard that Harbin is a convicted sex offender from Alabama and a fugitive living in Brownsville, wanted on a federal arrest warrant for child pornography from the Northern District of Alabama. Agents seized various electronic devices from Harbin on which forensic analysis revealed more than 3,500 images and more than 360 videos of child pornography.

Sentencing is set for Dec. 9 for both Cortez and Harbin, who face a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. Upon completion of any prison term imposed, both also face a maximum of life on supervised release during which time the court can impose a number of special conditions designed to protect children and prohibit the use of the Internet. Both Cortez and Harbin were arrested on federal charges in August and have been in custody since that time where they will remain pending their sentencing hearing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Hugo R. Martinez, Southern District of Texas, is prosecuting this case.

This investigation was conducted under HSI’s Operation Predator, an international initiative to protect children from sexual predators. Since the launch of Operation Predator in 2003, HSI has arrested more than 12,000 individuals for crimes against children, including the production and distribution of online child pornography, traveling overseas for sex with minors, and sex trafficking of children. In fiscal year 2014, more than 2,300 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative and more than 1,000 victims identified or rescued.

HSI encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free Tip Line at 1-866-DHS-2-ICE or by completing its online tip form. Both are staffed around the clock by investigators. From outside the U.S. and Canada, callers should dial 802-872-6199. Hearing impaired users can call TTY 802-872-6196. Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, via its toll-free 24-hour hotline, 1-800-THE-LOST.

For additional information about wanted suspected child predators, download HSI’s Operation Predator smartphone app or visit the online suspect alerts page. HSI is a founding member and current chair of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.