California Man Pleads Guilty to Child Exploitation Offense

David X. Sullivan, United States Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New England, announced that JOSE NUNEZ, 26, of Santa Clarita, California, waived his right to be indicted and pleaded guilty today before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven to receipt of child pornography.

According to court documents and statements made in court, in February 2024, Nunez began chatting on Roblox, a gaming and chat platform, with a 13-year-old minor female from Connecticut. The conversation transitioned to text messaging, where Nunez sent the victim several sexually explicit photos of himself. As the conversation progressed, Nunez requested sexually explicit photos of the minor female, which he received on his smartphone.

On August 7, 2024, HSI special agents arrested Nunez and seized his smartphone. A search of the phone revealed evidence of his conversations with the minor victim and sexually explicit images of the minor victim.

Nunez pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography, which carries a mandatory minimum term of imprisonment of five years and a maximum term of imprisonment of 20 years.

Nunez has been detained since his arrest. A sentencing date is not scheduled.

This investigation has been conducted by HSI and the Cromwell Police Department. This case is being prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings with the assistance of the Office of the State's Attorney for the Judicial District of Middlesex.

This case is part of the U.S. Department of Justice's Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.

To report cases of child exploitation, please visit https://www.cybertipline.comLinks to other government and non-government sites will typically appear with the "external link" icon to indicate that you are leaving the Department of Justice website when you click the link..