Ceres Man Sentenced for Receiving Child Pornography

FRESNO, CA—Senior United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii sentenced Javier Rocha-Vasquez, 22, of Ceres, today to 97 months in prison for receiving child pornography, Attorney Benjamin B. Wagner announced.

The sentence imposed also includes a term of supervised release of 240 months during which the defendant will be required to register as a sex offender, and his access to minors, computers, and the Internet will be restricted. The court also ordered forfeiture of a computer used to commit the offense.

According to court documents, between October 2010 and December 28, 2010, Rocha-Vasquez received more than 600 images of child pornography on his computer via the Internet. Several of the images depicted prepubescent minors and some were depictions of violence and sadistic or masochistic conduct.

This case was the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney David L. Gappa prosecuted 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.justice.gov/psc. Click on the “Resources” tab for information about Internet safety education.