Martinez Man Gets 5-1/2 Years For Child Porn Possession

A Martinez man was sentenced to five-and-a-half years in prison last week after FBI agents procured child pornography from him, federal prosecutors said Friday.

Louis Cortez, 68, was indicted by a federal grand jury in Oakland for one count of possession of child pornography last April and pleaded guilty to the charge Thursday, according to court records. He came to the attention of investigators when FBI agents obtained sexually explicit photos and videos of children through peer-to-peer file sharing software, prosecutors said.

They then traced the transmission to Cortez. A search of Cortez’s home turned up hundreds of images and video stored on electronic media, prosecutors said. In addition to the five-and-a-half-year sentence, U.S. District Judge Yvonne Rogers sentenced Cortez to eight years of supervised release.

He may not access the Internet without prior approval from his probation officer, must register as a sex offender, and can’t be within 100 feet of anywhere children are likely to gather.

Cortez was remanded to custody after the sentence was handed down Thursday.

--Bay City News

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