Carpinteria man sentenced to more than 11 years in prison for child pornography after release from state prison

A Central Coast man, Giovanni Gonzalez of Carpinteria, has been sentenced to 135 months in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of receiving child pornography. The sentencing comes shortly after Gonzalez was released from state prison on related charges.

Gonzalez, 34, has returned to prison to begin serving his sentence, imposed by U.S. District Judge R. Gary Klausner, who also ordered him to pay $24,000 in prompt restitution. The sentence reflects not only the seriousness of the offenses but also a society increasingly intolerant of such abuses against the most vulnerable.

“Within days of his release from state prison for despicable acts committed against children, this defendant returned to his deplorable behavior, obtaining thousands of videos depicting the sexual exploitation of children,” said U.S. Attorney Martin Estrada. “Protecting our children is central to my office’s mission, and we will continue to use all available resources to prosecute those who participate in this vicious marketplace that traffics in child abuse,” according to a statement obtained by the U.S. Attorney’s Office – Central District of California.

Shortly after being conditionally released from a prison sentence of more than 17 years on December 1, 2022 for multiple offenses, including posing online as a teenage girl to coerce underage victims, Gonzalez resumed actively seeking and receiving content depicting child sexual abuse. He used applications such as WhatsApp and maintained a collection that was eventually discovered by his probation officer during a routine check on January 7, 2023.

The items found on Gonzalez’s cell phone included approximately 2,684 child sexual abuse videos, some of which depicted the most heinous acts against prepubescent children. “Child sexual exploitation is unacceptable and will not be tolerated in our society,” said Akil Davis, assistant director in charge of the FBI’s Los Angeles Field Office, highlighting the collaborative effort that brought Gonzalez to justice — a joint effort between federal and local law enforcement agencies including the FBI, Santa Maria Police Department, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation and the Ventura County Sheriff’s Office.

This case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Jeremy K. Beecher of the International Narcotics, Money Laundering and Racketeering Unit. The arrest and subsequent trial underscore the deep-seated commitment of these entities to eradicating the specter of child exploitation from our communities and to ensuring the safety and sanctity of childhood itself. For more information, please see the official press release from the U.S. Attorney’s Office.