McALLEN, Texas — A Mexican citizen was sentenced for receiving child sexual abuse material following an investigation conducted by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Rio Grande Valley (RGV).
Orlando Diaz-Ramirez, 33, was sentenced by a federal judge July 3 to 97 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard that Diaz had an additional 8 GB of child sexual abuse material on his Dropbox account and that he was employed as a choir teacher at a local middle school at the time of the offense. In handing down the sentence, the court noted that by engaging in the receipt of this material, Diaz-Ramirez’s actions fed into the market for the production of child sexual abuse material and the possible victimization of future children.
Diaz-Ramirez pleaded guilty Sept. 8, 2023, admitting he received 300 videos of child sexual abuse from Israel Flores, 22, of Los Fresnos. Flores was also previously sentenced to 97 months in prison. Diaz-Ramirez and Flores must also pay $24,000 and $21,000, respectively, to known victims. Both men will also be ordered to register as sex offenders and must serve five years on supervised release, during which time they will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Not a U.S. citizen, Diaz-Ramirez is expected to face removal proceedings following his sentence.
“With today’s sentencing, HSI has removed a dangerous child predator from the community,” said HSI Rio Grande Valley Deputy Special Agent in Charge Mark Lippa. “Preventing and investigating crimes against children is a high priority for HSI. We will continue to dedicate law enforcement resources to identify and bring to justice child predators who traumatize and victimize children.”
According to court documents, in October 2020, authorities conducted an investigation identifying an individual uploading child pornography to a Dropbox account. They linked the associated IP address to a residence in Donna that belonged to Diaz-Ramirez. In April 2021, authorities executed a federal search warrant at the location. At that time, he admitted to downloading child sexual abuse material through Kik and uploading it to his Dropbox account. He also stated he possessed a USB drive containing child sexual abuse material, which he received from Flores.
Authorities then contacted Flores at his residence in Los Fresnos, who admitted he provided the USB drive to Diaz. He had used his Kik account to access accounts in Mega, a cloud-based storage and file hosting service, to obtain the child sexual abuse material. Flores then downloaded the material onto the USB drive. A review of the USB drive revealed 300 videos of child sexual abuse, some of which included prepubescent minors under the age of 12 engaged in sexual acts with adults.
Diaz and Flores remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas Alexa D. Parcell prosecuted the case.
HSI takes a victim-centered approach to child exploitation investigations by working to identify, rescue and stabilize victims. HSI works in partnership with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, Internet Crimes Against Children partners, and other federal, state and local agencies to help solve cases and rescue sexually exploited children. You can report suspected child sexual exploitation or missing children to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children’s toll-free, 24-hour hotline at 800-THE-LOST.
HSI is a founding member of the Virtual Global Taskforce, an international alliance of law enforcement agencies and private industry sector partners working together to prevent and deter online child sexual abuse.
One of HSI’s top priorities is to protect the public from crimes of victimization, and HSI’s child exploitation investigations program is a central component of this mission set. Further, HSI is recognized as a global leader in this investigative discipline. The directorate is committed to utilizing its vast authorities, international footprint and strong government and nongovernment partnerships to identify and rescue child victims; identify and apprehend offenders; prevent transnational child sexual abuse; and help make the internet a safer place for children.
About HSI
HSI is the principal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce consists of over 10,000 employees, assigned to 235 offices within the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI's international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.