West Texas man sentenced to 10 years in federal prison for possessing prepubescent child pornography

LUBBOCK, Texas — A west Texas man was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 121 months in federal prison for possessing prepubescent child pornography and aiding and abetting.

This sentence was announced by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas. This investigation was conducted by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement's (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Office of the Attorney General of New Mexico Investigations Division.

According to documents filed in the case, Jose Fidencio Perez, 40, of Seagraves, Texas, used a file-sharing program on his computer to download child pornography. During his search, Perez downloaded and viewed numerous videos of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Perez pleaded guilty in October 2013 to one count of possessing prepubescent child pornography and aiding and abetting.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy, Northern District of Texas, prosecuted 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 10,000 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 2013, more than 2,000 individuals were arrested by HSI special agents under this initiative.

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. 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.