Chile immigrant gets prison for self-made child porn tape

Friday, December 21, 2007
BY RUDY LARINI
Star-Ledger Staff

A 43-year-old undocumented immigrant from Chile was sen tenced yesterday to more than 18 years in federal prison for transporting child pornography -- a videotape he made in Chile of himself having sex with his 7-year-old niece.

Luis Misael Castro Valenzuela of Union City was ordered to serve 220 months in prison by U.S. District Judge Stanley R. Chesler, who said the man's conduct deserved "an extremely severe sentence."

"He has demonstrated that he is a pedophile, plain and simple," the judge said.

Speaking through an interpreter, Valenzuela apologized for what he did and asked for leniency, citing his five children and his sick wife and parents.

"I want to say I'm sorry," he said. "I know that what I did, there's no name for it, no words. I acted very badly. I made an error and I'm very repentant and this is from my heart. I just need this mercy for me and if your honor could, to let me free now."

Chesler countered: "You're right, Mr. Valenzuela. People make mistakes and sometimes they have to face the consequences of their conduct."

Valenzuela was arrested in May 2006 -- a month after illegally entering the United States -- when he was reported by a relative who caught him masturbating while watching the videotape.

Chesler said that on the videotape, the victim can be heard cry ing out, "Stop, Uncle!"

"The court viewed the videotape and need not go into explicit detail," the judge said.

Valenzuela pleaded guilty in May to a charge of transporting child pornography into the United States. Assistant U.S. Attorney Paul B. Matey said Valenzuela would be subject to deportation once his sentence is served.

Assistant Federal Public Defender John Yauch had argued for a sentence at the low end of the range for the offense, which is punishable by five to 20 years in prison.

"We do not dispute by any means that the conduct of the defendant is extremely disturbing," Yauch said. "There's no two ways about it and we don't take any issue with it. It's uncontested."

But Yauch argued that the crime rightfully should be prosecuted in Chile, where the sexual as sault occurred.

"To put it bluntly, this is Chile's problem, not the U.S.'s," he said. "Surely further punishment awaits Mr. Castro Valenzuela upon his de portation to Chile."

But Matey called for the maxi mum prison term, citing Valenzue la's production of the child pornography and his own admission that there is no word or name for what he did.

"I would submit that there is a word and it is horrific," Matey said.

"We don't have to speak about the suffering of the child because we can see it in vivid detail in the video," he said. "Mr. Valenzuela is more dangerous and more culpable than someone who had transported child pornography that they did not produce themselves."

Rudy Larini may be reached at rlarini@starledger.com or (973) 392-4253.

http://www.nj.com/news/ledger/jersey/in ... xml&coll=1