California resident Henry Obdulio Cordon has been handed down a 30-year federal prison sentence for the sexual exploitation of a minor. Chief United States District Judge Timothy J. Corrigan sentenced the 39-year-old from Antioch after he pleaded guilty to producing sexually abusive material involving a 3-year-old child. Following his prison term, Cordon is mandated to undergo a life term of supervised release and will be registered as a sex offender.
The unsettling discovery of these criminal activities was first reported in April 2019 when an internet service provider relayed several CyberTipline reports to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). The emails, tracked back to Contra Costa County in California, contained images that depicted children in sexually abusive scenarios. With warrants executed, it was found that the email account and telephone number in question were linked to Cordon.
A deeper investigation revealed another email account owned by Cordon held a photo showing a young child being sexually abused by an adult male – evidence that was traced to a Blackberry device dating back to July 11, 2011. In May 2019, law enforcement authorities searched Cordon's California apartment, confronting him with the incriminating material found in his possession. Initially during the search, Cordon admitted to searching for "nude teen pictures" and later confessed to knowing the child in the photos and emailing the photo to himself for safekeeping.
According to court documents on U.S. Attorney's Office, further inquiry consolidated the fact that Cordon was the individual in Florida who took and later emailed the photo depicting the sexual abuse to his own account, which was also found on his iPhone captured during the execution of the search warrant. Officers in Florida were instrumental in determining the identity and age of the abused child, as well as the home where the abuse had occurred.
The coordination between several agencies, including 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, the Clay County Sheriff’s Office, and Homeland Security Investigations, led to the successful apprehension and prosecution of Cordon. The case, prosecuted by Assistant United States Attorney D. Rodney Brown, was brought under Project Safe Childhood, a Department of Justice initiative targeting the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program, since its inception in 2006, brings together federal, state, and local resources in an attempt to and prosecute offenders, and to rescue victims.
