Reedley Man Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

FRESNO, CA—United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced today that Vincent Chavez, 33, of Reedley, pleaded guilty to possessing child pornography.

According to the plea agreement, between December 2008 and September 30, 2009, Chavez possessed child pornography that he received from the Internet.

Chavez is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on October 28, 2011. He faces a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, a fine of $250,000, and a lifetime term of supervised release. The actual sentence, however, will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of any applicable statutory sentencing factors and the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables.

This case is the result of Operation Direct Connect, an extensive series of investigations by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, specifically the Fresno Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Crimes Task Force, the Fresno U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), and the Fresno County Sheriff’s Office. Assistant United States Attorney Jeremy R. Jehangiri is prosecuting the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, PSC mobilizes federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov or call the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of California and ask to speak with the PSC coordinator.