A Mission man remains in custody after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography on an on-line peer-to-peer network.
Jose Alaniz-Allen appeared before U.S. District Court Judge Micaela Alvarez in McAllen on Thursday morning.
The 22-year-old man pleaded guilty to one count of receipt of child pornography.
Federal prosecutors told Action 4 News it all started back in September 2012 with an investigation into a peer-to-peer network used to share child pornography.
Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) agents learned that Alaniz-Allen was among the users of that network.
Authorities executed a search warrant at his home back in November where they found 23 movies showing young children engaged in sexual conduct.
Some of the images are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Judge Alvarez ordered that Alaniz-Allen remain in custody until his May 16th sentencing.
Alaniz-Allen faces up to 20 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 fine.
Vincent Iglio with HSI's regional office in San Antonio said child pornography victims carry a heavy burden.
“Child pornography is the indelible record of a child being sexually exploited," Iglio said. "These children are endlessly victimized every time those images are transmitted, downloaded, shared or viewed. HSI will continue to aggressively target child predators who are involved in any form of perpetuating these heinous crimes."
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