News Releases

Federal grand jury indicts former hospital worker on child pornography charges

EL PASO, Texas - A federal grand jury on Wednesday indicted a former manager of a local hospital on various child pornography charges following an investigation by the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) Office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).

Omar Jose Magaña, 39, the former director of case management at Las Palmas Medical Center in El Paso, is charged with receiving, distributing and possessing child pornography; receiving obscene material depicting sexual abuse of a child; and possessing obscene material depicting sexual abuse of a child.

ICE HSI Cyber Crimes Group special agents executed a search warrant on Oct. 14 at Magaña's home and seized three computers, related computer and electronic media, mobile telephones and cameras. A forensic examination of the computer hard drives revealed more than 100 videos and more than 1,800 image files depicting child pornography or children being sexually exploited.

If convicted, Magaña faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in federal prison for the charges of receiving and distributing child pornography, and for receiving obscene material. Each of the other charges carries up to 10 years imprisonment. He remains jailed awaiting trial.

Magaña's case is one of six child pornography cases the HSI Cyber Crimes Group has investigated in the past two months.

Other recent ICE HSI child pornography cases:

• Nov. 18 - ICE HSI special agents executed two federal search warrants in two separate child pornography investigations, which are ongoing.
• Nov. 1 - Carlos Vasquez pleaded guilty to possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of minors. ICE HSI special agents arrested the former director of the Boys and Girls Club of El Paso/Kennedy Branch on July 16. He remains in federal custody pending his Jan. 6 sentencing.
• Oct. 14 - ICE HSI special agents executed federal search warrant at a local residence and seized several home computers. The investigation is pending the forensic examination of the computers.
• Sept. 21 - ICE HSI special agents arrested Marco Alferez, 34, a former high school dance teacher. He was indicted last month and charged with sexually exploiting children, receiving/distributing material involving the sexual exploitation of children, and possessing material involving the sexual exploitation of children. He remains in custody awaiting trial.

"ICE Homeland Security Investigations is committed to protecting children and preventing from being sexually exploited, said Manuel Oyola-Torres, special agent in charge of ICE HSI in El Paso. "Under ICE's Operation Predator program, we will relentlessly target anyone who produces, distributes or possesses child pornography."

Operation Predator is an ICE initiative to protect children from sexual predators, including those who travel overseas for sex with minors, Internet child pornographers, criminal alien sex offenders, and child sex traffickers.

ICE encourages the public to report suspected child predators by calling at 1-866-DHS-2ICE. For more information, visit www.ice.gov.