McALLEN, Texas - Daniel Miguel Salinas, 33, of Weslaco, has entered a guilty plea to possessing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson.
In October 2010, law enforcement began an investigation into a movie production company that operated a website offering child pornography and child erotica DVDs and streaming videos for sale. Authorities executed a search warrant in May 2011 on the business premises of that company and discovered customer order histories along with other evidence. During the review of the order histories, agents were able to identify Salinas as a customer who had purchased 11 downloads from the company’s website.
In addition, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a tip in August 2012 from the Microsoft Corporation concerning the uploading of possible child pornography into a file hosting service. Federal agents discovered that the email address associated with that activity belonged to Salinas.
Authorities executed a search warrant at Salinas’ Weslaco residence, during which time they seized several computers and various external storage media devices. A forensic examination on the devices revealed more than 130 images and 20 videos of child pornography movies involving clearly young children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Some of the movies are of known victims as identified through NCMEC.
During his plea today, Salinas admitted to knowingly possessing the devices which contained child pornography. Further, Salinas admitted he knew such devices contained visual depictions of minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa accepted the guilty plea and set sentencing for Sept. 7, 2016. At that time, Salinas faces up to 10 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He will remain in custody pending that hearing.
The U.S. Postal inspection Service investigated.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorneys Alex Benavides and Kimberly Ann Leo, was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the tab "resources."
Source: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of the United States Attorneys
