Antioch Resident Charged With Receipt Of Child Pornography And Possession Of Child Pornography

OAKLAND – A federal grand jury indicted Henry Obdulio Cordon with receipt of child pornography and possession of child pornography, announced United States Attorney David L. Anderson and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Special Agent in Charge Ryan L. Spradlin.

An affidavit filed by a Task Force Officer with Homeland Security Investigations in connection with a criminal complaint filed in the same case also alleges that various email accounts controlled by Cordon contained child pornography images of young children being sexually abused. The complaint also alleges that Cordon emailed himself images of young children being sexually abused by adult men. Additionally, the complaint alleges that in 2011 Cordon participated in sexually explicit conduct with a 2 or 3-year-old girl and that he took a photograph of the girl while she was engaging in the conduct. The indictment charges Cordon with one count of receipt of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a)(2) and (b)(1), and one count of possession of child pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. §§ 2252(a)(4)(B) and (b)(2).

The investigation began when Yahoo! sent a series of CyberTips to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children after discovering child pornography materials in accounts that Cordon controlled.

Cordon was arrested at his residence in Antioch the day the search warrant was executed, and made his initial appearance in federal court in Oakland on May 20, 2019. Today, Cordon waived a detention hearing and remains in the custody of the United States Marshal. Cordon’s next scheduled appearance is at 1:00 p.m. on June 11, 2019, for a status conference before the Honorable Jeffrey S. White, U.S. District Judge.

Anyone with information about Cordon or his alleged sexual interest in children should contact the Contra Costa County District Attorney’s Office Bureau of Investigations at 925-957-2200.

An indictment merely alleges that crimes have been committed, and all defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. If convicted, the defendant faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, with a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, and a lifetime of supervised release, plus restitution, if convicted of violating 18 U.S.C. 2252(a)(2) (receipt of child pornography). However, any sentence following conviction would be imposed by the court after consideration of the U.S. Sentencing Guidelines and the federal statute governing the imposition of a sentence, 18 U.S.C. § 3553.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Christina McCall is prosecuting the case with the assistance of Jessica Rodriguez. The prosecution is the result of an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) Task Force of Contra Costa County, the Contra Costa Sheriff’s Department, the Contra Costa District Attorney’s Office, and the United States Homeland Security Investigations.