Gabriel Dominguez, 31, of Hialeah, Florida, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Court Judge Donald L. Graham to 240 months in prison and a lifetime of supervised release for distributing and possessing child pornography in connection with chats he had with minors over Instagram’s direct message feature and his cellular telephone.

Ariana Fajardo Orshan, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Florida and Mark Selby, Special Agent in Charge, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (ICE-HSI), Miami Field Office, made the announcement.

According to the stipulated facts filed in court, on April 8, 2018, Instagram, a social media network, reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an Instagram user had uploaded one file of child pornography onto their Instagram account. Instagram also reported that the account in question was registered to Dominguez.  The cellular telephone number associated with Dominguez’s Instagram account was his personal cellular telephone number.

On September 17, 2018, a search warrant was executed for Dominguez’s Instagram account, which showed Dominguez was engaged in multiple sexually explicit chats with numerous minors, including a  9-year-old, through the Instagram direct message feature.  Dominguez also received and distributed child pornography, some involving children as young as 2 years of age, through the direct messaging feature.

On October 16, 2018, a search warrant was executed at Dominguez’s residence in Hialeah. During a search of his residence, law enforcement seized multiple pieces of electronic media, including Dominguez’s Motorola Moto cellular telephone. A forensic examination of the Motorola Moto cellular telephone by law enforcement revealed multiple images and videos of child pornography.  On December 18, 2018, Dominguez pled guilty to the distribution and possession of child pornography. 

U.S. Attorney Fajardo Orshan commended the investigatory efforts of ICE-HSI in this matter.  She thanked the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children and the Miami-Dade Police Department for their assistance.  This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Alejandra L. López. 

Related court documents and information may be found on the website of the District Court for the Southern District of Florida at www.flsd.uscourts.gov or at http://pacer.flsd.uscourts.gov