Modesto man guilty of receiving child pornography

FRESNO -- A Modesto man was found guilty Wednesday in Fresno of receiving child pornography.

Eric Paul Vallejos, 38, was convicted of receiving material depicting a minor engaging in sexually explicit conduct. He faces a sentence of five to 20 years in prison and is scheduled to be sentenced Dec. 17. The trial lasted two days.

According to prosecutors, Vallejos made files of child pornography available for sharing on an Internet file-sharing Web site in September and October 2010. The investigation included the Modesto office of the FBI and the Ceres Police Department.

Officers served a search warrant at Vallejos' residence and seized a computer. At the time it was seized, the computer was downloading numerous images, including several that depicted the sexual abuse of prepubescent minors.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. For more information about the federal project, go to www.justice.gov/psc.