Child Pornographer Sentenced to 97 Months Incarceration

          SHAWN N. ANDERSON, United States Attorney for the Districts of Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands, announced that defendant JOSEPH B. PANGELINAN JR. was sentenced by Chief Judge Frances Tydingco-Gatewood, District Court of Guam, for the crime of Receipt of Child Pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252A(a)(2) and (b)(1). Pangelinan previously pled guilty to the charge and admitted to utilizing a peer- to-peer (P2P) network to receive approximately 2,280 images and 17 movies that depicted the sexual abuse of young children.  The Court ordered 97 months imprisonment, five years of supervised release, $17,000 in restitution for the child victims, and forfeiture of a computer. Pangelinan was also ordered to register with the Sex Offender Registry in any jurisdiction in which he lives, works or attends school.  Under federal law, his period of registration will extend for 25 years.

          U.S. Attorney Anderson states, “Our office will continue to aggressively pursue child predators under the Project Safe Childhood initiative. Unfortunately, victims of child pornography suffer for many years from the trauma of abuse and the repeated distribution of depictions of the crime. I applaud the hard work of our federal law enforcement partners at Homeland Security Investigations in bringing this defendant to justice.”

          Assistant Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) John Duenas said, “Today’s prison sentence is fitting for someone who robs children of their innocence and continues to sexually exploit them by producing and trading the illegal images with predators around the world. Investigating this type of criminal activity is a priority for HSI and we will continue to dedicate our resources to identify and bring to justice other child predators who victimize children in this same manner.”

          The U.S. Attorney additionally reminds defendants who have committed sexual abuse of children that, under federal and local law, all sex offenders have a duty to register and keep their registration current with the Sex Offender Registry in their jurisdiction. Sex offenders who travel to Guam and who reside on Guam must inform the Guam Sex Offender Registry where they reside, work, or attend school. They must also periodically update their registration information. The U.S. Attorney notes that the Sex Offender Registry was created in order to protect the public by protecting victims, preventing further victimization and informing the public of the whereabouts of sex offenders. Guam’s Sex Offender Registry can be found online at www.guamcourts.org (link is external).