ICE took 18 months to nab Vela

Just as Mission school district employees heard sexual abuse accusations against Genaro Vela years before he was arrested, federal agents first noticed him trolling child pornography Web sites in late 2004.

It then took more than 18 months to arrest Vela on federal child pornography charges, according to recently released documents. During that time, he continued to be a Boy Scout leader and — according to police — inappropriately touched an 11-year-old boy.

However, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents said that just because they came across Vela’s Internet identity in a national pornography sting doesn’t mean they instantly knew his name, let alone that he was a Boy Scout leader.

When they found out he was a retired Mission teacher and Boy Scout leader in May 2006, his case was marked high priority, according to documents recently included in Vela’s criminal file.

Because the documents were supposed to be sealed and not included in the criminal file, ICE officials refused to talk about the specifics of the Vela investigation.

But generally speaking, they said it takes a while to launch a sting, unmask people’s Internet disguises and collect enough evidence to charge them with crimes.

“We didn’t have the information that would’ve led to his immediate arrest,” said Jerry Robinette, head of the ICE Office of Investigations in San Antonio. “You can’t go in there half-cocked.”

Vela was identified as a Boy Scout leader in May 2006, and ICE agents raided his home a month later, finding thousands of pornographic images depicting children. Vela pleaded guilty to pornography possession in September and received 14 years in federal prison.

“No doubt about it, that was a big priority,” Robinette said. “But in 2004, we couldn’t take action.”

____

Michael Barnett covers law enforcement and general assignments for The Monitor. He can be reached at (956) 683-4447.