Visalia Man Agrees to 97-Month Prison Term For Receipt of Child Pornography

FRESNO - Acting United States Attorney Lawrence G. Brown announced that CHRISTOPHER JOSEPH RENGA, 49, of Visalia, California, pleaded guilty today before United States District Judge Anthony W. Ishii, to one count of receipt of images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. As part of his plea agreement, the defendant agreed to a prison term of at least 97 months and to forfeit property used to commit the offense. He also agreed to participate in a sex offender treatment program while serving his federal sentence. Upon his release from custody, he will serve a lifetime term of supervised release.

The case was the result of an investigation by the Fresno Cyber Crimes Task Force which includes participants from the Fresno office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, the Fresno Police Department, the United States Secret Service, the California Department of Justice, and the Fresno County Sheriff's Department. This prosecution was part of Operation Valley Predator II, a month-long multi-agency effort in August 2008 that primarily targeted individuals who had previously been convicted for offenses involving the sexual exploitation of minors. During Operation Valley Predator II, more than 22 federal, state, and local agencies throughout the Central Valley made contact with approximately 377 individuals, executed approximately 20 search warrants, and arrested 61 persons on a variety of offenses ranging from child pornography crimes to failure to register as a sex offender. More than 17 new federal indictments resulted from the enforcement operation.

According to Assistant United States Attorney David Gappa, who is prosecuting the case, RENGA admitted that from approximately September 2006 through October 2007, he used a computer and the internet to receive more than 600 images of child pornography. Some of the images were of prepubescent children and some depicted violence and/or sadistic abuse.

RENGA was remanded into custody after pleading guilty. The court scheduled sentencing for June 8, 2009, at 9:00 a.m. At that time the court can either accept the plea agreement, allow the defendant to plead guilty without an agreement, or set the case for trial. The maximum term of imprisonment is twenty years, a potential $250,000 fine, a lifetime term of supervised release, and a mandatory penalty assessment of $100. However, the actual sentence will be determined at the discretion of the court after consideration of the Federal Sentencing Guidelines, which take into account a number of variables, and any applicable statutory sentencing factors.

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