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Peruvian man sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for possessing and transporting child pornography

HOUSTON - A Peruvian man has been sentenced to 15 years in prison for transporting and possessing numerous CDs and digital video disks containing child pornography, announced U. S. Attorney José Angel Moreno. The investigation was conducted by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) in Houston.

Luis Arturo Infante, 50, Peruvian national, was sentenced on Wednesday to 180 months in prison by U. S. District Court Judge Gray Miller for the transporting child pornography; he was also sentenced to the statutory maximum of 120 months for possessing child pornography. The prison terms are to be served concurrently.

Additionally, Infante was ordered to register as a sex offender and to pay $3,000 in restitution to each of the two victims who sought restitution. Infante is subject to deportation after he completes his sentence. Infante pleaded guilty to the two felony offenses in February.

The investigation was conducted by ICE HSI special agents. Infante arrived at the airport aboard an international flight from Lima, Peru, where CDs and digital video disks were discovered in Infante's luggage and personal effects by U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) officers in September 2009. Infante has been in custody since his arrest.

A forensic analysis completed by ICE HSI of the CDs and digital video disks resulted in discovering more than 23,000 images and 580 videos of child pornography. Some of the images included victims under the age of 12 and portrayed sadistic or masochistic conduct or other depictions of violence. The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children reviewed the images and found known victims depicted in the images.

This investigation was part of Operation Predator, a nationwide ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers. Since Operation Predator was launched in July 2003, ICE agents have arrested more than 12,000 individuals.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators and any suspicious activity through its toll-free hotline at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. This hotline is staffed around the clock by investigators.

Suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children may be reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, an Operation Predator partner, at 1-800-843-5678 or http://www.cybertipline.com.