El Paso Man Sentenced to 30 Years in Federal Prison for Production of Child Pornography

 EL PASO – A federal judge today sentenced 25-year-old El Paso resident Javier Ivan Rubio Morales to 30 years in federal prison for production of child pornography.

In addition to the prison term, Senior U.S. District Judge David Briones ordered that Rubio pay $30,000 in restitution and be placed on supervised release for a period of 10 years after completing his prison term.

“The significant sentence imposed today demonstrates that we will simply not tolerate this despicable and harmful conduct,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff.  “Working with our partners in law enforcement, we will continue to identify, apprehend and remove child predators from our communities.”

On February 11, 2021, Rubio pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography.  By pleading guilty, Rubio admitted that for approximately two years beginning in May 2018, he coerced two minor females, ages six and seven initially, to engage in sexually explicit conduct so that he could produce visual depictions of such conduct using his cell phone.

According to court records, federal and state authorities executed a search warrant at the defendant’s residence on May 22, 2020, and seized multiple electronic items.  A forensics examination of the seized items revealed the presence of multiple images and videos depicting the minors engaged in sexually explicit acts with an adult male. 

“This repugnant exploitation of innocent children has no place in society. HSI will vigorously pursue anyone involved in sexually abusing minor victims and producing visual depictions of the sexual abuse.  We will work tirelessly to prevent the exploitation of children to the fullest extent of the law,” said Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Erik P. Breitzke, El Paso.  “HSI is committed to collaborating with our law enforcement partners to aggressively investigate these types of cases to ensure predators are found in our communities and face justice.”

Rubio has remained in federal custody since his arrest in May 2020.

The HSI Cyber Crimes Group, with assistance from the El Paso County Sheriff’s Office, investigated this case.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Herbert Bunton prosecuted this case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, 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 to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.