An Arizona grand jury on Tuesday indicted a U.S. Customs and Border Protection border agent on charges of producing and distributing child pornography and illegally possessing a firearm, federal prosecutors announced Friday.
Nereo Mejia Gomez Jr., 41, of Yuma, is charged with one count of manufacturing child pornography, multiple counts of distribution and possession of child pornography, and one count of possession of an unregistered firearm. The Arizona federal prosecutor’s office is investigating. stated in a statement. He was reportedly released pending trial.
Gomez is alleged to have produced pornographic material involving girls from November 2022 to March 2023, when the girls were 15 and 16 years old, with the knowledge that it would be distributed within and outside the United States. has been raised. court documents revealed. Additionally, from February to March 2024, it is alleged that materials related to minors were distributed five times. Authorities allegedly found Gomez in possession of such materials. It also contained material depicting “prepubescent minors or minors under the age of 12,” which court documents say was intended to be viewed.
As reported in the newspaper, Gomez also owned a short-barreled LAR MFG Grizzly-15 that was not registered to him. (Related: Former Border Patrol agent jailed for trying to sell fake immigration documents to illegal immigrants)
Border Patrol agent charged with child pornography and exploitation @HSIAArizona https://t.co/KbDDqZzJgA pic.twitter.com/2njahgENsE
— United States Attorney for Arizona (@USAO_AZ) May 10, 2024
A statement from the state attorney’s office indicated that Gomez was an employee of the Border Patrol’s Yuma District. The department was cooperating with the Department of Homeland Security’s investigation into the incident.
Gomez could be sentenced to 15 to 30 years in prison if convicted of producing child pornography, and up to 20 years each on charges of distributing and possessing child pornography, the statement said.
“Possession of an unregistered firearm is punishable by up to 10 years in prison. All child exploitation charges can carry fines of up to $250,000 and lifetime conditions of supervised release. Yes,” the statement added.
