David Gonzalez, 31, Sentenced for Child Pornography Violations

PLANO, Texas – A 31-year-old Denton, Texas man has been sentenced to federal prison for child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney John M. Bales today.

David Gonzalez pleaded guilty on Apr. 27, 2011, to transporting child pornography and was sentenced to 144 months in federal prison on Nov. 30, 2011, by U.S. District Judge Richard Schell.

According to information presented in court, Gonzalez was being investigated for trading child pornography using peer-to-peer software over the internet. In December 2010, law enforcement agents executed a federal search warrant at Gonzalez' residence in Denton and seized computers and computer-related equipment. A forensic analysis of the computer revealed 2000 images and 600 videos of child pornography. Some of the images depicted children engaged in sadistic and masochistic conduct.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

This case was investigated by the F.B.I. and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Mandy Griffith.

http://www.justice.gov/usao/txe/News/2011/edtx-psc-gonzalez-120211.html