Sadistic child porn sends San Juan man to prison

McALLEN — A San Juan man received a 15-year prison sentence after federal agents found 549 pieces of child pornography that he produced or possessed.

Benito Delgado Jr., 34, received 14- and 15-year sentences that he will serve concurrently at a court hearing before Chief U.S. District Judge Ricardo Hinojosa late Tuesday afternoon.

Delgado also will pay $1,750 to a known victim identified in his collection of child porn, U.S. Attorney Kenneth Magidson said in a statement.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents identified Delgado as a child porn trafficker in July 2006. Agents searched his residence in October 2006 and seized his computer, along with other media devices.

Agents found 549 videos depicting young children having sex that had been in Delgado's possession. Forensic examiners determined Delgado had taken photos of a 6-year-old girl that revealed her genitalia, prosecutors said.

Delgado later admitted to downloading child pornography and that he shot the explicit photos of the young girl.

Judge Hinojosa based Delgado's sentence on the number of movies he collected, as well as the nature of the pornography, which showed children subjected to sadistic, masochistic and violent conduct.

Delgado has been in federal custody since his arrest in March 2007. He will be transferred to a federal prison to serve the remainder of his sentence.

Following his release, Delgado faces five years of supervised release, during which he will be prohibited from accessing the Internet. He will have to register as a sex offender for the rest of his life.

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Jared Taylor covers courts and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at jtaylor@themonitor.com and (956) 683-4439.  

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