Man who had more than 600 images of child pornography pleads guilty

TEXARKANA, Texas — A 25-year-old man pleaded guilty Thursday morning in a Texarkana federal court to possession of child pornography.

Francisco Leija-Hernandez appeared for a plea hearing with Longview, Texas, lawyer Jason Cassel before U.S. Magistrate Judge Caroline Craven in Texarkana’s downtown federal building. Leija-Hernandez entered a plea of guilty to count two of a two-count indictment handed down by a federal grand jury in the Texarkana Division of the Eastern District of Texas in July.

Leija-Hernandez appeared in orange jail clothes, cuffs and shackles. A large number of his family filled the seats of the courtroom.

A factual basis document states that Leija Hernandez possessed more than 600 images of child pornography, including videos and photos depicting sadistic and masochistic abuse of infants, toddlers and prepubescent children.

Among the offensive material are videos depicting the sexual victimization of a young boy with his wrists bound to his ankles with handcuffs. Other images include a boy wearing only a blue mask in what appears to be a dog cage.

Craven noted that Leija Hernandez is a permanent resident of the U.S. Assistant U.S. Attorney Jonathan Hornok said that Leija Hernandez’ removal from the U.S. following any term in federal prison is “presumptively mandatory.”

The government intends to move to dismiss the first count of the indictment at sentencing. In addition to a sentence of up to 20 years, Leija-Hernandez could also be ordered to pay a fine up to $250,000. Hornok said Leija-Hernandez is expected to be ordered to pay $5,000 to a fund for victims of human trafficking and will be required to register as a sex offender.

Leija-Hernandez must also forfeit computer equipment including a laptop, a hard drive and two flash drives.

Leija-Hernandez is in federal custody. His case will be scheduled for sentencing before U.S. District Judge Robert Schroeder III once the court has received a presentence report.