A federal court in Del Rio, Texas, sentenced an Ecuadorian national on Wednesday to 84 months in prison and five years of supervised release for possession of child sexual abuse materials. The sentencing of the 27-year-old migrant from Cuenca Provincia, Azuay, Ecuador follows a July 2021 bench trial where the court found him guilty of possessing a large trove of pornographic images involving child sexual abuse.
According to court documents, Del Rio Sector Border Patrol agents apprehended Ramiro Helibuerto Cuenca-Campos near Brackettville, Texas, during a failed migrant smuggling attempt. At the time of his arrest, Border Patrol agents discovered explicit images involving children on his cell phone. A subsequent forensic analysis of his cell phone revealed more than 2,000 images containing child sexual abuse material.
Prosecutors charged Cuenca in federal court for his possession of the materials. On July 27, 2021, Chief U.S. District Judge Alia Moses found Cuenca-Campos guilty following a bench trial. The Ecuadorian migrant remained in federal custody since his arrest on March 10, 2020. In addition to the prison sentence, the judge ordered Cuenca-Campos to pay $18,000 in restitution to the victims and $200 in special assessments. Chief Judge Moses also ordered the forfeiture of his phone.
“This defendant traveled from Ecuador and crossed the border into our country with a sickening amount of child sexual abuse material on his cell phone,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “Thankfully, our federal law enforcement partners at the border disrupted a human smuggling operation and conducted their routine procedures, searching this individual and his phone when they detained him. This case reinforces the fact that, much like our policies against the drugs and firearms, that noncitizens occasionally try to bring into the U.S., we will not tolerate anyone bringing in material that sexually exploits and harms children.”
“Individuals who receive and possess child pornography participate in the victimization of children whose innocence can never be restored,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig S. Larrabee for the ICE Homeland Security Investigations San Antonio Division. “These criminals also represent a public safety threat to our communities. For those reasons, child exploitation cases are a top priority for HSI, and we will continue to work closely with our federal partners to ensure they are arrested, prosecuted, and ultimately removed from the United States.”
HSI and USBP investigated the case, which was brought about 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, officials stated. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and 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, the statement continued.
Randy Clark is a 32-year veteran of the United States Border Patrol. Prior to his retirement, he served as the Division Chief for Law Enforcement Operations, directing operations for nine Border Patrol Stations within the Del Rio, Texas, Sector. Follow him on Twitter @RandyClarkBBTX.