Jury convicts Laredoan of multiple offenses involving child sexual abuse material

LAREDO, Texas - A 27-year-old Laredo man has been found guilty of transportation, receipt and possession of child pornography, announced Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.

The jury deliberated for approximately two hours before convicting Fernando Xavier Ortiz on all counts as charged following a two-day trial that concluded May 12.

The investigation began after law enforcement learned child sexual abuse material had been uploaded to a social media application which originated from an apartment in Laredo. Ortiz resided at the location with his family.

Authorities executed a search warrant in June 2024 and seized several electronic devices. Further examination of one of the cellular phones revealed 220 videos and 144 images containing CSAM. The files were all hidden in a "secure" folder Ortiz had loaded on the phone which was password protected.

Testimony revealed he had been actively using that same secure folder for other purposes, such as sending emails to purchase a car.

The jury heard from four witnesses, some of whom described how Ortiz obtained the material from another application and stored it in the secure folder of the Samsung phone.

The defense attempted to convince the jury someone else must have placed the material on his phone, and there was insufficient proof that he did it. They did not believe those claims and found Ortiz guilty as charged.

U.S. District Judge John A. Kazen presided over trial and will set sentencing at a later date. At that time, Ortiz faces up to 20 years in federal prison as well as a possible $250,000 maximum fine.

Previously released on bond, he was ordered into custody following the verdict where he will remain pending that hearing.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance of Laredo Police Department and other members of the Laredo Child Exploitation Task Force.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Ann Zeller and Michael Makens are prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ's PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources tab on that page.