WICHITA MAN SENTENCED TO 5+ YEARS FOR POSSESSION OF CHILD PORNOGRAPHY

WICHITA, KAN. – Ignacio Batres, Jr., 21, Wichita, was sentenced Thursday to 70 months in federal prison for possession of child pornography.

“Mr. Batres used the file sharing network Kazaa to download child pornography images from the Internet and to maintain files that could be downloaded from the Internet by other Kazaa users,” said U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren.

Batres pleaded guilty in May to one count of possession of child pornography. In his plea, he admitted that on March 9, 2006, he used the screen name LATINO20 to enter a chat room called “#100%PreTeenGirlSexPics.” He sent a chat request to another user who was in fact an FBI agent in Buffalo, N.Y. During the chat, the agent downloaded 19 images of child porn from Batres’ server.

On May 23, 2006, FBI agents served a search warrant at Batres’ home in Wichita and seized his computer. A forensic examination found images of child pornography on the machine.

Melgren commended the Federal Bureau of Investigation and Assistant U.S. Attorney Alan Metzger for their work on the case.

This prosecution is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative. In February 2006, Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales launched Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative designed to protect children from online exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys Offices, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

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