Source: United States Department of Justice News
EL PASO – Jorge Mario Manjarrez-Reyes, 30, of El Paso, pleaded guilty today to one count of production of a visual depiction involving the sexual exploitation of a minor.
According to court documents, law enforcement officers first encountered Manjarrez-Reyes on a peer-to-peer program where he was sharing images of child pornography. Following the execution of a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on March 19, 2020, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) forensically discovered approximately 513 images and 619 videos depicting child pornography on Manjarrez-Reyes’ electronic devices. In coordination with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, HSI later learned that one of the pornographic videos had been created by Manjarrez-Reyes.
By pleading guilty, Manjarrez-Reyes admitted that he knowingly used and coerced a four-year-old victim to take part in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing visual depictions of that abuse.
A sentencing date has not been set. Manjarrez-Reyes faces a mandatory minimum sentence of 15 years in prison. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.
U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff and HSI Special Agent in Charge Frank Burrola, El Paso Division, made the announcement.
HSI El Paso’s Cyber Crimes Group investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Winters is prosecuting the case.
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 U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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.justice.gov/psc.
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