A man from Santa Clarita, California, has pleaded guilty in federal court to receiving child pornography. The announcement was made by David X. Sullivan, U.S. Attorney for the District of Connecticut, and Michael J. Krol, Special Agent in Charge of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), New England.
Jose Nunez, 26, waived his right to be indicted and entered a guilty plea before U.S. District Judge Sarah F. Russell in New Haven.
Court records indicate that in February 2024, Nunez began communicating on the Roblox gaming and chat platform with a 13-year-old girl from Connecticut. The conversation moved to text messaging, during which Nunez sent sexually explicit photos of himself to the minor and later requested and received explicit images from her on his smartphone.
Nunez was arrested by HSI special agents on August 7, 2024. His phone was seized and examined, revealing conversations and sexually explicit images involving the minor victim.
He pleaded guilty to receipt of child pornography, an offense that carries a mandatory minimum prison sentence of five years and a maximum of twenty years. Nunez remains detained since his arrest while awaiting sentencing; no date has been set.
The investigation involved HSI and the Cromwell Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel E. Cummings is prosecuting the case with support from the Office of the State’s Attorney for the Judicial District of Middlesex.
“This case is part of the U.S. Department of Justice’s Project Safe Childhood Initiative, which is aimed at protecting children from sexual abuse and exploitation,” according to officials. More information about Project Safe Childhood can be found at www.justice.gov/psc.
“To report cases of child exploitation, please visit www.cybertipline.com.”