New Jersey Man Convicted of Distribution of Child Pornography Involving Oakland Teenager

OAKLAND—Alex Gonzalez pleaded guilty in federal court today to distribution and possession of child pornography, United States Attorney Melinda Haag announced.

In pleading guilty, Gonzalez, 21, of Wenonah, New Jersey, admitted to meeting the victim, a 15-year-old high school student, through the Internet. The victim resided in Oakland. According to the statements made in court, Gonzalez instructed the victim to take nude photos of herself and to send them to him. He also instructed her to engage in sexually explicit conduct while on Internet video chats. Gonzalez secretly recorded these encounters. When the 15-year-old high school student stopped communicating with him, Gonzalez created a false identity on a social media website and uploaded the victim’s nude images to the social media website for the specific purpose of distributing those nude images to the high school student’s classmates.

Gonzalez was charged by Indictment on February 21, 2013, with one count of distribution of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He pleaded guilty to all counts. Gonzalez' sentencing is scheduled for February 19, 2014, before The Honorable Phyllis J. Hamilton, United States District Court Judge, in Oakland. The maximum statutory penalty for distribution of child pornography in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(4)(B) is 40 years' imprisonment with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and a fine of $250,000. Any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Rodney C. Villazor is the Assistant U.S. Attorney who is prosecuting the case with the assistance of legal assistant Vanessa Quant. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Federal Bureau of Investigation.