A Mississippi man was sentenced to federal prison for distributing child pornography.

United States Attorney Alison J. Ramsdell announced that Javier Valenzuela, age 46, of Pascagoula, who was sentenced on May 16, 2022, by Judge Jeffrey L. Viken, U.S. District Court.

Valenzuela was sentenced to five years in federal prison, followed by five years of supervised release.  Valenzuela was ordered to pay a special assessment to the Federal Crime Victims Fund in the amount of $100 and $3,000 in restitution.  Valenzuela will be required to register as a sex offender under the Sex Offender Registration and Notification Act.

Valenzuela was arrested and federally indicted following two Cybertips from Facebook where images were being distributed.  The Cybertips included images of very young children and were found within the contents of Valenzuela’s Facebook account.  In an interview, Valenzuela admitted to distributing, receiving, and possessing child pornography.

This case was investigated by the Internet Crimes Against Children Taskforce, Homeland Security Investigations, South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation, and the Pennington County Sheriff’s Office.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarah B. Collins prosecuted the case.

Valenzuela was immediately turned over to the custody of the U.S. Marshals Service.