Wagoner Man Found Guilty for Sexually Exploiting a Child

A federal jury convicted a Wagoner man Thursday of sexual exploitation of a child and of possession of child pornography.

Rogelio Hernandez Rodriguez, 30, was found guilty of sexually exploiting the minor victim and inducing the victim to engage in sexually explicit conduct for the purpose of producing child pornography. Rodriguez was further found guilty of knowingly possessing and accessing with intent to view child pornography. The 524 sexually graphic images and videos depicted the sexual abuse of the prepubescent victim and were stored on hard drives and multiple SD cards. During closing statements, the prosecution reminded the jury of the crimes perpetrated against the victim and of what the child had to endure. They asked the jury to return a verdict of guilty to assure the victim that what happened to him was illegal and it was wrong.

“Crimes against children are reprehensible. I know not what could bring an adult to sexually abuse a child to produce or consume child pornography. But I do know there is something that U.S. Attorneys can and will do about it,” said U.S. Attorney Trent Shores. “With the help of our law enforcement partners, we will identify these child predators and prosecute them to the fullest extent of the law to ensure that they answer for their vile crimes. That is what happened in this case, and a just result was reached. Thanks to the hard work of dedicated investigators and prosecutors, there is one less predator on the streets.”

U.S. District Judge Gregory K. Frizzell presided over the trial and set sentencing for Jan. 30, 2020. Rodriguez faces a maximum penalty of 30 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release for the sexual exploitation of a child. He further faces a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and at least 5 years of supervised release for possession of child pornography.

The Wagoner Police Department and FBI investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Shannon Cozzoni, Reagan V. Reininger, and Dennis A. Fries are prosecuting the case.