Homeland Security Investigations carried out a search warrant at the residence of a San Angelo man on April 21. Michael Patrick Redente was found in possession of a hard drive containing prepubescent child pornography and taken into custody.
The 39-year-old was charged in a federal indictment by a Lubbock Grand Jury, stated the U.S. Attorney John R. Parker of the Northern District of Texas. On Wednesday, Redente stood before U.S. Magistrate Judge E. Scott Frost and was ordered to remain in custody. The detention hearing will be scheduled for a later date in Lubbock.
Gilberto Ray Hinojos, of Big Spring, has pled guilty to child pornography on a federal level, according the Department of Justice. The 22-year-old was charged with a receipt of a visual depiction of a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and aiding and abetting. Hinojos faces a statutory penalty of five to 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000.
On May 14, Hinojos responded to an internet ad posted by the Texas Deptartment of Public Safety. He made an effort to receive explicit images from an undercover identifying himself as a 13 year old girl. Hinojos was arrested at a Lubbock restaurant where he intended to meet the young girl.
A Lubbock man also appeared before the court pleading guilty to a single count of possession of child pornography, said John R. Parker, Acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas. Michael Dennis Powers is a 47-year-old man who faces a maximun penalty of 20 years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000. The case documents state that Powers admitted to knowingly possess three computer disks containing the prepubescent porn.
Powers also stated he viewed numerous files containing child porn and proceeded to download them.
The Department of Justice started a program in May 2006 called "Project Safe Childhood." This program has resulted in many investigations being performed by the Department of Homeland Security, as well as the local Air Force Office of Special Investigations at Goodfellow Air Force Base. Possession of child pornography is punishable by up to 20 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000 and up to life on supervised release. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information on internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”
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