McALLEN, Texas — A 39-year-old Mexican national who had been living in Dublin, Ireland, and fled to Austria was extradited to the United States to face federal charges for allegedly producing child sexual abuse material, ICE announced.
Abelardo Sanchez made his first appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Juan F. Alanis on June 8 in McAllen, where he pleaded not guilty. If convicted, Sanchez faces a minimum of 25 and up to 50 years in federal prison and a possible $250,000 maximum fine.
“The fight against child sexual exploitation transcends borders. It requires collaboration between law enforcement at every level and across the world,” said acting ICE Director David J. Venturella. “HSI special agents in The Hague, Dublin and Vienna teamed up with our international law enforcement partners and our special agents in McAllen to investigate this case. Our team also relied on the Department of Justice’s Office of International Affairs to assist with securing Sanchez’s arrest and extradition.”
ICE Homeland Security Investigations special agents discovered an online account containing child sexual abuse material during an investigation. Some of the material appeared to have been produced by Sanchez and dated back to 2014. Investigators identified a child victim who lived in Texas at the time Sanchez produced the images, according to the charges.
Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Alexis Garcia is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The case required coordination across three countries — Ireland, Austria, and the United States — before Sanchez was arrested and extradited to the Southern District of Texas.
Sanchez’s case will proceed in federal court in McAllen, where further hearings have yet to be scheduled.