Illegal Alien Sentenced for Producing Child Pornography

 LAFAYETTE, La. –  Pedro Aguirre-Nunez, 39, a Duson, Louisiana resident, was sentenced in United States District Court for Production of Child Pornography, Acting United States Attorney Alexander C. Van Hook announced. United States District Judge S. Maurice Hicks, Jr. sentenced Aguirre-Nunez to spend 224 months (18 years, 8 months) in prison, followed by 5 years of supervised release.

On March 29, 2019, Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a report of indecent behavior with a juvenile at a residence in Duson, Louisiana. Law enforcement officers learned that videos of Aguirre-Nunez molesting a minor girl had been discovered on the cloud account associated with his phone. Officers obtained a search warrant for the cloud account and found three videos. The videos were taken on a smart phone and synched with the cloud account associated with that phone.

A forensic review determined that the videos had been taken a few months prior to the discovery of them. All three of the videos were taken while the minor child was asleep. On October 17, 2019, Aguirre-Nunez admitted that he did in fact produce the visual depictions of conduct with the minor child by using his smart phone and pled guilty to Production of Child Pornography in federal court.

Aguirre-Nunez is a citizen and national of Mexico and did not have legal status in the United States on the dates these crimes were committed.

The U.S. Department of Homeland Security-Homeland Security Investigations and the Lafayette Parish Sheriff’s Office conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney David J. Ayo prosecuted the case.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a U.S. Department of Justice nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines 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 U.S. Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Immigration & Customs Enforcement (ICE) also encourage the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at (866) 347-2423.  Investigators are available at all hours to answer hotline calls. Tips or other information can also be submitted to ICE online by visiting their website at www.ice.gov/exec/forms/hsi-tips/tips.asp or through the Operation Predator smartphone application www.ice.gov/predator/smartphone-app. Tips may be submitted anonymously.