Former Middle School Employee Pleads Guilty to Production and Distribution of Child Pornography

United States Attorney Robert Pitman announced that 33-year-old Robert Ramos, Jr., of Austin, faces a minimum mandatory 15 years and up to 50 years in federal prison after pleading guilty earlier today to production and distribution of material relating to the sexual exploitation of children.

Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Mark Lane, Ramos, who was previously an assistant band director at Dessau Middle School in Pflugerville, admitted that he obtained sexually explicit images of a 13-year-old girl through communicating with her on Facebook using Facebook accounts that falsely portrayed him as a teenaged girl. Ramos then distributed those images to a teacher in New York, Timothy Bek, who was also contacting underage girls for the purpose of obtaining sexually explicit images. Ramos also admitted that he viewed and recorded, via Internet webcam, a video broadcast of a 5-year-old girl being sexually abused by Jennifer Mahoney, of New Jersey. Both Bek and Mahoney have been prosecuted in their respective jurisdictions for their criminal activities relating to child pornography.

Ramos has been in custody since his arrest by FBI agents in January 2012. Sentencing before United States District Judge Lee Yeakel has not yet been scheduled.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Assistant United States Attorney Matthew Devlin and Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section Trial Attorney Keith Becker are prosecuting this case on behalf of the government.