American Canyon man, 28, accused of producing child porn released on bond

SANFRANCISCO>> An American Canyon man was released on $50,000 bond Friday morning, a week after he was arrested on charges that allege he traveled to Missouri last October to film himself sexually abusing a teen girl, court records show.

Edson Ortiz, 28, was indicted on charges of crossing state lines to produce child porn, a federal offense, in the Eastern District of Missouri. He was arrested in American Canyon June 18, and released Friday after his parents assured U.S. Magistrate Judge Susan Van Keulen they would report him if he used the internet or violated other pretrial release conditions. Ortiz’s parents will be on the hook for the $50,000 unsecured bond if he’s found to be in violation, Keulen said in the court hearing.

Ortiz faces up to 30 years in federal prison if convicted, court records show.

The investigation started with a law enforcement tip by the social media company Snapchat that said one of its users, with a screen name of “eddycyclops” had sent someone a child porn file depicting a kid estimated to be between 4 and 8 years old being molested. Police tracked the account to an American Canyon residence and served a search warrant there, according to court filings by federal prosecutors.

When they searched Ortiz’s bedroom, they found a journal with a chilling entry. It began with, “If you are reading this, I am either dead or in a coma,” and followed with instructions on how to delete or damage Ortiz’s cellphone. On the phone, police found videos showing Ortiz sexually abusing a 16-year-old girl who lived in the St. Louis area, prosecutors allege.

When they interviewed the girl, she told authorities she’d been talking to Ortiz online since she was 14. She said he asked her for pornographic videos of herself, even after she told him she’d just turned 15, and that he eventually traveled to Missouri, where they met in a hotel. That’s where the incriminating videos were shot, prosecutors say.

“Furthermore, defendant engaged in obscene communications with (the girl) in which he discussed his desire to have a baby with (the girl) and then to sexually abuse that baby,” assistant U.S. Attorney Christina Liu wrote in a court filing.

At the bond hearing Friday, Ortiz’s attorney, Brian Wanerman, argued that Ortiz had serious health problems that required a specific dose of blood thinners and regular testing, and that his life could be at risk if he stayed in jail. He said Ortiz would agree to surrender to the U.S. Marshals when he is extradited to Missouri, which Ortiz confirmed to Keulen he would do.

When it came to addressing the allegations contained in the indictment against Ortiz, Wanerman paraphrased a famous quote by New York State Chief Judge Sol Wachtler.

“A competent prosecutor could indict a ham sandwich,” Wanerman said.