A Carpinteria man who served time for a child pornography conviction is headed back to state prison.
The U.S. Department of Justice reports Giovanni Gonzalez, 34, was sentenced Monday to more than 11 years in prison for receiving videos containing child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
The DOJ reports Gonzalez received the images just one month after being paroled from state prison for internet-related child sexual exploitation crimes.
He had previously been sentenced to more than 17 years in prison for “posing as a teenage girl online and coercing at least eight minor female victims into engaging in sex acts and sending him the images, as well as for possessing and sharing CSAM on the internet,” according to the DOJ. He was paroled on Dec. 1, 2022.
Later that month, the DOJ reports Gonzalez “sought out and began receiving CSAM from sources, including one on WhatsApp” on his cell phone. When his parole officer inspected his phone in January of 2023, officials say more than 2,600 videos containing CSAM, were found.
“Within days of his release from state prison for despicable acts he committed against children, this defendant returned to his deplorable ways, obtaining thousands of videos showcasing the sexual exploitation of kids,” said United States Attorney Martin Estrada in a press release. “Protecting our children is central to my office’s mission and we will continue to use all available tools to those who participate in this wicked marketplace that traffics in child abuse.”
The case against Gonzalez was investigated by the Santa Maria Police Department and FBI with assistance from the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.
“Sexual exploitation of children is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our society,” Akil Davis, the assistant director in charge of the FBI's Los Angeles Field Office, said in the press release. “This case underscores the FBI's commitment to investigate all offenders who cause harm to our children, and we will ensure these individuals no longer pose a threat to our communities.”
Along with a new prison sentence, Gonzalez, who reportedly pleaded guilty in February to one count of receiving child pornography, was also ordered to pay $24,000 in restitution.
