Jury Convicts Modesto Man for Receiving Child Pornography

FRESNO, CA—On Wednesday, October 3, 2012, after a two-day trial in Fresno, a jury found Eric Paul Vallejos, 38, of Modesto, guilty of receiving child pornography, United States Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

Evidence introduced at trial showed that in September and October 2010, Vallejos made many files of child pornography available for sharing on an Internet file-sharing website. Law enforcement officers served a search warrant at his residence and seized a computer. At the time it was seized, the computer was in the process of downloading numerous images, including several that depicted the sexual abuse of prepubescent minors.

Vallejos is scheduled to be sentenced by United States District Judge Lawrence J. O’Neill on December 17, 2012. He faces a sentence of five to 20 years in prison. 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 an investigation by the Modesto Resident Agency of the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Ceres Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa and Special Assistant United States Attorney Megan Richards are prosecuting the case.

This case 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 those who sexually exploit children and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the “Resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.