United States Attorney James T. Jacks
Northern District of Texas

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 10, 2009
http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/txn/

AUSTIN, TEXAS, MAN ADMITS PRODUCING AND TRANSPORTING
CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

Defendant Faces Up to 50 Years in Federal Prison

LUBBOCK, Texas — In federal court in Lubbock today, before U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings, James Vallejo Salazar, 25, of Austin, Texas, pleaded guilty to one count each of production and transportation of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney James T. Jacks of the Northern District of Texas. Salazar has been in custody since his arrest in September 2009 at his home in Austin.

Salazar faces a maximum statutory sentence on the production conviction of not less than 15 years nor more than 30 years in prison and on the transportation conviction, a maximum statutory sentence of not less than five years nor more than 20 years in prison, for a total maximum sentence of 50 years in prison. In addition, he may be sentenced to serve a lifetime of supervised release and pay a fine of up to $500,000. He will also be required to register as a sex offender. Judge Cummings ordered a pre-sentence investigation with the sentencing date to be scheduled after that investigation is completed.

According to plea documents filed, Salazar admitted that in approximately May 2009, he met a 15-year-old girl (Jane Doe), from Big Spring, Texas, on MySpace.com, an Internet social networking website. Thereafter, Salazar and Jane Doe continued to communicate with each other, primarily by telephone chat (SMS, or short messaging service). During the initial introduction of Jane Doe to Salazar, she disclosed her age as 15-years-old.

A few months later, in approximately July 2009, the communications between Salazar and 15-year-old Jane Doe became sexual in nature. Salazar and Jane Doe began discussing plans to have her move to Austin to live with Salazar. Jane Doe would also bring her infant daughter, Jane Doe 2, who was less than one year of age, to live with her and Salazar.

From late August through early September 2009, Salazar requested, via text messaging from his cell phone, that Jane Doe produce sexually explicit photographs of Jane Doe 2. Jane Doe received the messages at her place of residence in Big Spring, Texas.

In addition, regarding the transportation conviction, Salazar also transported child pornography, by telephone, to Jane Doe, in Big Spring on September 4, 2009, between 11:02 p.m., and 11:05 p.m. Salazar sent Jane Doe a computer image depicting a female child under the age of 18, engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

On September 11, 2009, a search warrant was executed at Salazar's residence in Austin. He was cooperative with law enforcement agents, and when questioned by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agents, he stated that he had received the sexually explicit image of the infant female (Jane Doe 2), as he had requested. Salazar advised that he deleted the image upon receiving it.

The 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 United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov

The case is being investigated by ICE San Angelo and Austin, Texas; the Big Spring Police Department; and Texas Child Protective Services. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy of the Lubbock, Texas, U.S. Attorney's Office, is in charge of the prosecution.

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