Southeast Texas man sentenced to 60 years in prison for producing child pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — A Southeast Texas man was sentenced Thursday to a total of 60 years in prison following his two convictions for producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson, Southern District of Texas.

This sentence resulted from an investigation by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Portland (Texas) Police Department, and Corpus Christi Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Daniel H. Aleman II, 34, of Gregory, Texas, was sentenced by Senior U.S. District Judge Hayden Head to 30 years on each count to be served consecutively for a total of 60 years in federal prison.  Aleman will then be on supervised release for the rest of his life, and he must register as a sex offender. Aleman was convicted Oct. 13, 2015 following a one-day bench trial.

Additional information was also presented Jan. 7, including testimony from an HSI special agent. The special agent described the videos Aleman recorded while female customers were changing clothes in the dressing rooms at the Goodwill Store where Aleman worked. One video depicted a woman dressing a girl that the special agent estimated was about 4 years old. The special agent also described the videos of child pornography Aleman possessed, many of which depicted prepubescent girls engaged in sexually explicit conduct with adult males. The court also took into consideration a letter read by a victim in court, the mother of the two girls that Aleman sexually assaulted. In the letter, the mother described the impact the sexual abuse has had on her children.

In handing down the 60-year federal prison sentence, Judge Head noted that this kind of behavior cannot be tolerated. “Mr. Aleman, you should never walk the streets again,” he said.  

There is no parole in the federal prison system.

At the time of the bench trial, the court heard that in December 2014, officers with the Portland Police Department were dispatched to a local Goodwill Store regarding an employee filming female customers while they were changing clothes in the store’s dressing rooms. A customer reported that a store employee, later identified as Aleman, taped a small video recorder to the corner of a shopping cart. Aleman then positioned the shopping cart under the bottom gap of the dressing room door.

In January 2015, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Aleman’s residence and seized various electronic devices.  A forensic analysis on those devices revealed more than 50 videos of child pornography, more than 20 videos of women in dressing rooms, a video of Aleman sexually assaulting an unconscious adult female, and 12 videos of Aleman sexually assaulting two children. The children were identified and confirmed the abuse.

At trial, Aleman did not deny the allegations, only argued that the search was not valid. The court found him guilty as charged.

Aleman was arrested on federal charges in April 2015.  He has been in custody since that time where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

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

In FY2015, HSI agents examined 6.1 petabytes of data, the equivalent of 122 million four-drawer file cabinets filled with text, or 81 years of high-definition video.

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 14,000 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 2015, nearly 2,400 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.