Southeast Texas man sentenced to 35 years following human smuggling, child exploitation-related convictions

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Southeast Texas man was sentenced Dec. 20 to 35 years in federal prison following convictions for human smuggling and child exploitation-related offenses.

Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston’s Corpus Christi office conducted the investigation that led to the convictions with assistance from the U.S. Border Patrol and the Cameron County (Texas) Sheriff’s Office.

Paz Gomez-Magdaleno, a 43-year-old resident of Cameron County, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 60, 120 and 240 months for the transportation of undocumented noncitizens, possession of child pornography, and enticement of a minor, respectively. Gomez-Magdaleno must register as a sex offender and serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he must comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet.

Gomez-Magdaleno pleaded guilty to the charges on March 1. Restitution to his victims will be determined at a later date.

On Jan. 28, 2021, Gomez-Magdaleno drove his tractor-trailer through the primary inspection lane at a U.S. Border Patrol checkpoint near Sarita. A K-9 alerted to the vehicle, indicating that people may have been concealed inside the trailer of the vehicle. Upon further inspection, authorities discovered 20 unlawfully present noncitizens in the trailer and two cellphones in the truck.

Law enforcement officials obtained search warrants for the cellphones and discovered they contained child sexual abuse material. Authorities further discovered Gomez engaging in numerous conversations with minors on different messaging apps. An investigation revealed Gomez sought out minors to send him explicit photos and videos in exchange for money and gifts.

At the hearing, the court heard how Gomez-Magdaleno was found to possess child sexual abuse material of relatives and minors from the local community in addition to the images he had obtained from minors over the internet.

Gomez will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Patrick Overman and John Marck prosecuted the case.

For more news and information on HSI’s efforts to aggressively investigate child exploitation and human smuggling in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @HSIHouston.

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’ largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.