HOUSTON - A 25-year-old Cypress man has been ordered to prison for more than 11 years following his conviction of distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson. Jimmy Ortiz pleaded guilty Aug. 21, 2014.
Today, U.S. District Judge Keith P. Ellison, took into consideration type and number of images, his criminal history and handed Ortiz a total sentence of 135 months in federal prison. Ortiz was further ordered to pay $102,500 in restitution to two known victims and will serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
Indicted Jan. 30, 2014, Ortiz later appeared for a detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge George C. Hanks Jr. who found Ortiz to be a danger to the community and ordered he be detained.
The investigation revealed Ortiz was making child pornography available to others through the use of peer-to-peer software over the Internet. An FBI agent downloaded a video of child pornography from the files Ortiz was making available online. The video included two minor female children under the age of 12 performing oral sex on each other. Additionally, a FBI agent in Oklahoma also downloaded videos that contained child pornography from Ortiz.
A search warrant was executed Sept. 27, 2013. At that time, agents seized computer media including external hard drives which led to the discovery of more than 1500 digital images and approximately 49 videos containing child pornography.
Ortiz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI Innocent Images Task Force conducted the investigation.
This case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney Sherri L. Zack, 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, Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI)
