Prior Hands-On Sex Offender Convicted Of Possession Of Child Pornography

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – After a one-day bench trial, a Las Vegas resident was convicted of possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas A. Trutanich for the District of Nevada.

Gilbert Davila Jr., 55, was found guilty of one-count of possession of child pornography by U.S. District Judge James C. Mahan. At the time of the offense that resulted in his conviction, Davila had been previously convicted in California of unlawful sexual intercourse with a minor and lewd acts with a minor under 14.

In August and October 2017, the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) received a report from an online email service provider in reference to possible child pornography uploaded by a user. The report was sent to the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force, who in turn obtained a search warrant for information regarding the user who had uploaded the child pornography. The search warrant revealed that user account had more than 600 images of child sexual exploitation and child abuse material. A search warrant was also executed at Davila’s home. Davila was interviewed after execution of the warrant at his home, during which he confessed that he had a problem and that he had been looking at child pornography for approximately four to five years. He also stated that he performed a factory reset on his phone on the way to the interview to delete all images and videos of child pornography saved to his phone.

Sentencing has been scheduled for July 11, 2019. The maximum penalty is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine.

The case was investigated by the FBI and Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Elham Roohani and Rebecca Clinton are prosecuting the case.

If you have information regarding possible child sexual exploitation, you are urged to make a report to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at www.cybertipline.org.

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 individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood and for information about internet safety education, visit www.usdoj.gov/psc.

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