Mexican Citizen Pleads Guilty to Possessing Child Pornography

ALBANY, NEW YORK - Shair Rodriguez-Mora, age 20, and a citizen of Mexico, pled guilty on Friday, May 3 to possession of child pornography.

United States Attorney Carla B. Freedman; Matthew Scarpino, Special Agent in Charge, Homeland Security Investigations (HSI), Buffalo Field Office; and Chief Patrol Agent Robert N. Garcia, United States Border Patrol, Swanton Sector, made the announcement.

Rodriguez-Mora admitted to possessing 27 videos and 46 images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct on his cell phone when he illegally entered the United States from Canada on July 28, 2023. Border Patrol arrested Rodriguez-Mora illegally entering the United States and during that investigation, discovered the child pornography on his phone. Rodriguez-Mora previously pled guilty to improper entry by an alien and was sentenced to 25 days in jail for that offense.

Rodriguez-Mora will be sentenced on September 6, 2024, by Chief United States District Judge Brenda K. Sannes. Under the terms of Rodriguez-Mora's plea agreement, the parties have jointly recommended that Rodriguez-Mora receive a prison term of between 24 and 36 months. Rodriguez-Mora also faces a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of at least 5 years and up to life. He must also register as a sex offender upon his release from prison, and also faces removal from the United States.

HSI and Border Patrol investigated this case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Douglas Collyer is prosecuting the case as part of Project Safe Childhood.

Launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, Project Safe Childhood is led by United States Attorney's Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS). Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.justice.gov/psc.