BROWNSVILLE, Texas – A 38-year-old resident of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, has been ordered to federal prison for producing child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Jose Alfredo Fernandez-Martinez pleaded guilty Aug. 4.
Today, U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera Jr. ordered him to serve a 360-month sentence. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including the victim impact statement from the victim’s mother. Following the sentence, Fernandez-Martinez will serve 10 years on supervised release, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Fernandez-Martinez will also be ordered to register as a sex offender and must pay a total of $55,000 in special assessments.
From on our about Aug. 2, 2020, to Jan. 6, 2021, Fernandez-Martinez caused an eight-year-old female to engage in sexually-explicit conduct. He recorded it with his cellphone.
Fernandez-Martinez attempted to enter the country, at which time authorities found the videos. A forensic examination of the phone determined he possessed approximately 141 videos and 82 images of child pornography. Fernandez-Martinez created five of the videos with the phone.
Fernandez-Martinez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations – Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.
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