Laredoan Indicted for Possessing, Receiving, and Distributing Child Pornography

LAREDO, TX—A sealed three-count indictment charging a 21-year-old Laredoan with possession, receipt, and distribution of child pornography has been unsealed following the defendant’s arrest, United States Attorney José Angel Moreno announced today.

Sergio Javier Romanos, 21, of Laredo, aka Sean White, was charged in a sealed three-count indictment returned by a Laredo grand jury on Aug. 30, 2011. The indictment was unsealed today following Romanos’ arrest in San Antonio today by FBI agents.

Romanos is charged with possessing child pornography and knowingly accessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct via computer, receiving, and distributing child pornography and possessing and knowingly accessing images of child pornography via computer in September 2009. Receiving and possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography, as alleged in counts two and three of the indictment, carry a mandatory minimum sentence of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum of 20 years’ imprisonment along with a $250,000 fine upon conviction. Possession and accessing visual depictions of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct as alleged in count one, carries a maximum sentence of up to 10 years’ imprisonment upon conviction as well as a $250,000 fine.

Romanos is expected to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge John W. Primoro in San Antonio, Texas, today. At that time, the United States will ask the court to hold Romanos in federal custody without bond pending further criminal proceedings in Laredo.

The investigation leading to the charges was conducted by the FBI. Assistant United States Attorney Roberto F. Ramirez is prosecuting the case.

An indictment is a formal accusation of criminal conduct, not evidence. A defendant is presumed innocent unless and until convicted through due process of law.