Post by WaTcHeR on May 20, 2006 13:25:05 GMT -5
05/20/2006 - WACO, TX - A former police officer has pleaded guilty to a child pornography charge after investigators found more than 600 images on his home computer equipment.
Officer Amador Gonzalez Jr., 44, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to one count of possession of visual depictions of sexual activity by minors. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing is set for July.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed not to pursue other charges stemming from the federal child pornography investigation.
Defense lawyer Bill Johnston said his client's conviction represents only a snapshot of a life that was largely dedicated to law enforcement. Gonzalez served more than 20 years on the Waco police force.
"Amador has never denied what happened and has never been anything but ashamed by it," Johnston said. "Pleading guilty is the start of his trying to make things right."
FBI agents searched Gonzalez's Hewitt home in February after his computer was linked with a computer in a Palm Beach, Fla., home that had been used for an Internet chat room dedicated to child pornography.
The search of Gonzalez's home turned up computer storage equipment with more than 600 images of child pornography, including at least 79 identifiable children, federal authorities said. Gonzalez later admitted to an FBI agent that he had downloaded and possessed the images, according to court records.
The Waco Police Department put Gonzalez on administrative leave the day his home was searched. He resigned from the department the next day.
Gonzalez also moonlighted as a security officer at the Methodist Children's Home in Waco for about five years. He quit that job the day he resigned from the police department.
Bobby Gillam, the home's executive director, has said that Gonzalez had little interaction with youths at the facility and that an internal investigation turned up no problems involving the officer.
Gonzalez remained free on $25,000 bond after his court appearance Thursday. The terms of his release call for him to wear a tracking device, stay 500 feet away from schools and leave home only during the day. Monitoring equipment has also been installed on Gonzalez's computer.
Officer Amador Gonzalez Jr., 44, pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court to one count of possession of visual depictions of sexual activity by minors. He faces up to 10 years in prison and a fine up to $250,000. Sentencing is set for July.
In exchange for his plea, prosecutors agreed not to pursue other charges stemming from the federal child pornography investigation.
Defense lawyer Bill Johnston said his client's conviction represents only a snapshot of a life that was largely dedicated to law enforcement. Gonzalez served more than 20 years on the Waco police force.
"Amador has never denied what happened and has never been anything but ashamed by it," Johnston said. "Pleading guilty is the start of his trying to make things right."
FBI agents searched Gonzalez's Hewitt home in February after his computer was linked with a computer in a Palm Beach, Fla., home that had been used for an Internet chat room dedicated to child pornography.
The search of Gonzalez's home turned up computer storage equipment with more than 600 images of child pornography, including at least 79 identifiable children, federal authorities said. Gonzalez later admitted to an FBI agent that he had downloaded and possessed the images, according to court records.
The Waco Police Department put Gonzalez on administrative leave the day his home was searched. He resigned from the department the next day.
Gonzalez also moonlighted as a security officer at the Methodist Children's Home in Waco for about five years. He quit that job the day he resigned from the police department.
Bobby Gillam, the home's executive director, has said that Gonzalez had little interaction with youths at the facility and that an internal investigation turned up no problems involving the officer.
Gonzalez remained free on $25,000 bond after his court appearance Thursday. The terms of his release call for him to wear a tracking device, stay 500 feet away from schools and leave home only during the day. Monitoring equipment has also been installed on Gonzalez's computer.