Lincolnia Man Pleads Guilty to Child Porn Charge; Investigators Find 100 Videos

ALEXANDRIA, VA – Bruno Ivan Gonzales, 39, of Alexandria, pleaded guilty Thursday to charges of receipt of child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Eastern District.

Authorities say that between January and March 2015, Homeland Security Investigations identified an Internet Protocol address near Alexandria that was downloading child pornography via a peer-to-peer network.

Based on that investigation, law enforcement officers executed a federal search warrant on a home where Gonzales lived. During the search, Homeland agents seized several computer devices. Two desktop computers were found to contain child pornography, and forensic analysis of the devices revealed more than one hundred videos of child pornography and data destruction software. The analysis also confirmed that these devices had been used to download child pornography using a peer-to-peer program. When interviewed, Gonzales admitted to using the computers to receive child pornography.

Gonzales faces a mandatory minimum of five years’ imprisonment and a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison when sentenced on May 25, authorities said.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the 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, visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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