Silver Spring Man Sentenced to Five Years in Prison for Transporting Child Pornography from His Office in Virginia to His Home

Chief U.S. District Judge Deborah K. Chasanow sentenced Nestor Gualteros, age 39, of Silver Spring, Maryland, to five years in prison, followed by 10 years of supervised release, for transporting child pornography. Judge Chasanow ordered that upon his release from prison, Gualteros must register as a sex offender in the place where he resides, where he is an employee, and where he is a student, under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act (SORNA).
The sentence was announced by United States Attorney for the District of Maryland Rod J. Rosenstein; Special Agent in Charge Richard A. McFeely of the Federal Bureau of Investigation; and Chief Maggie A. DeBoard of the Herndon, Virginia Police Department.

According to his plea agreement, from at least April 2009, Gualteros belonged to groups on a social networking site that was under investigation by law enforcement for the trafficking of child pornography. On August 3, 2010, Gualteros was interviewed by law enforcement and confessed to distributing and receiving child pornography, including images of prepubescent children, from his desktop computer at his place of employment in Herndon, Virginia. Gualteros also advised that he downloaded child pornography onto two flash drives that he kept hidden underneath his desk drawer at his place of employment. In December of 2009, Gualteros transported his work computer from his place of employment in Virginia to his residence in Silver Spring, Maryland, where he continued to view child pornography. The evidence showed that Gualteros distributed over 900 images to 15 different groups on the social networking site.

A forensic examination of Gualteros’ home computer revealed over 1,400 thumbnails, or previewed images, of child pornography. A search warrant was obtained to seize and search the digital media belonging to Gualteros. One flash drive contained over 11,000 images and seven videos of child pornography. One other flash drive contained over 12,000 images of child pornography. Gualteros’ place of employment in Virginia consented to a forensic review of his work computer which revealed over 800 images and three videos of child pornography.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc. For more information about Internet safety education, please visit www.usdoj.gov/psc and click on the “Resources” tab on the left of the page.

United States Attorney Rod J. Rosenstein commended the FBI and Herndon Police Department for their work in the investigation. Mr. Rosenstein thanked Special Assistant U.S. Attorney LisaMarie Freitas, who prosecuted the case.