Department of Justice
United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt
Southern District of Iowa
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, August 18, 2010
WEST DES MOINES MAN SENTENCED ON
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY CHARGE
Des Moines, IA - On August 18, 2010, Ramon Marcelo Valdez, age 20, of West Des Moines, Iowa was sentenced to a term of 70 months imprisonment upon his conviction for receipt of child pornography, announced United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt. Chief United States District Court Judge Robert W. Pratt ordered Valdez to serve a ten year term of supervised release and be placed on the Sex Offender Registry upon his release from prison. Valdez was also ordered to pay an assessment of $100 to the Crime Victims Fund.
United States Attorney Nicholas A. Klinefeldt said that federal laws dealing with the sexual exploitation of minors were designed for internet sexual predators. Klinefeldt further added that while the internet has many practical uses, it is also a place where sexual predators lurk and attempt to sexually exploit children. He encouraged concerned citizens to visit the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children website at www.iaicac.net for more information on internet safety.
Valdez pleaded guilty to the receipt of child pornography charge on March 30, 2010. Charges against Valdez arose out of the large scale investigation known as 'Operation Wirebreaker', a Project Safe Childhood initiative, which was a joint effort between federal, state and local law enforcement agencies that targeted individuals using peer-to-peer file sharing programs to distribute and receive child pornography over the internet. A forensic exam of Valdez' computer revealed that he had downloaded and saved 41 videos of child pornography from the internet.
This case was investigated by the Department of Homeland Security, Bureau of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, the West Des Moines, Iowa Police Department and the Iowa Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, and was prosecuted by the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Iowa.
Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood, is a nationwide initiative 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 (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshal's 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 SafeChildhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.
