Mexican national living abroad extradited to US to face charges for producing child sexual abuse material following ICE HSI investigation

McALLEN, Texas - A 39-year-old citizen of Mexico who had been living in Dublin, Ireland, and fled to Austria was extradited to face justice for allegedly producing child sexual abuse material. Abelardo Sanchez made his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis June 8 in McAllen.

ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents discovered an online account that contained child sexual abuse material during an investigation. Some of the material appeared to be produced by Sanchez and dated back to 2014. Investigators identified a child victim who lived in Texas at the time Sanchez produced the images, according to the charges.

"The fight against child sexual exploitation transcends borders. It requires collaboration between law enforcement at every level and across the world," said acting ICE Director David J. Venturella. "HSI special agents in The Hague, Dublin and Vienna teamed up with our international law enforcement partners and our special agents in McAllen to investigate this case. Our team also relied on the Department of Justice's Office of International Affairs to assist with securing Sanchez's arrest and extradition."

If convicted, Sanchez faces a minimum of 25 and up to 50 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine. He pleaded not guilty. Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Alexis Garcia is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Read more about Sanchez's case here.

HSI's Response to Child Exploitation

HSI, ICE's criminal investigative arm, fights child sexual exploitation by operating heavily in the digital world - disrupting the flow of child sexual abuse material, stopping livestream video showing child abuse, identifying victims, and dismantling child predator networks all over the world.

The fight against child exploitation transcends borders and requires collaboration between law enforcement, nongovernmental organizations, and the public. HSI's worldwide law enforcement partnerships enable a coordinated response to a crime that knows no boundaries.

Learn more about how ICE protects children in the United States and beyond by following ICE on Facebook, Instagram, X, Threads, Bluesky, YouTube or Truth Social.