Man with child porn sentenced

Kevin Arce, 25, of Chula Vista, was sentenced Friday to 41 months in federal prison following his guilty plea to possessing computer images of minors who were engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Arce had been free on $25,000 bond, but was remanded to jail at the end of the sentencing hearing by U.S. District Court Judge Janis Sammartino, who ordered him to register as a sex offender.
His attorney, Sandra Hourani, urged an 18-month sentence and noted he had lost his green card permitting him to be in the U.S.

Hourani said Arce will be deported to the Philippines after he completes his prison sentence. He will likely be unable to return because of his felony conviction, she said.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alessandra Serano sought a 46-month sentence. The maximum term was 20 years.

In court documents Serano said there were 1,800 images and one video that were found on Arce’s computer that depicted minors in sexual conduct. She wrote that 63 victims had been identified from previous child porn tapes that were involved in other cases of molestation that somehow got onto the Internet.

Arce told investigators he began looking at pornography in general around age 13 and it progressed from there. He denied having a sexual interest in young girls.

A subpoena request to AT&T was served in 2014, and federal agents went to his apartment in Chula Vista on Jan. 8, 2015.