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Newport News man sentenced for producing child pornography

Posted at 5:49 PM, Jul 12, 2017
and last updated 2017-07-12 17:48:41-04

Ernesto Rodriguez Hernandez, 23, of Newport News. (Photo courtesy of the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Eastern District of Virginia)

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. – A Newport News man was sentenced Wednesday to 35 years in prison for the production of child pornography.

Ernesto Rodriguez Hernandez, 23, pleaded guilty on April 5. According to court documents, Hernandez produced child pornography using the images of two female minors. Hernandez exchanged messages with one of the minors using Facebook messenger and received pornographic imagery from said minor using the application.

On December 2, 2016, police executed a federal search warrant at Hernandez’s home, where they seized his computers and other media storage items, which were revealed to contain additional videos and images of child pornography.

After forensic examination, police also identified another female minor victim who was also used to produce pornographic images.