RALEIGH, NC – Next month, David Sierra Orozco, 31, will be sentenced by U.S. District Judge James C. Dever III, following his recent conviction for possession of child pornography. By the time he is sentenced, it will be nearly four years after his arrest in Harnett County.
On July 25, 2017, Harnett County sheriff's deputies observed the Lexus being driven by Orozco swerve into the opposite lane twice, when they stopped him. He did not have a driver's license, but, instead, presented deputies with only a Matricula Consular card.
Deputies observed that the Mexican national was very nervous and “was sweating profusely despite the air conditioner on high,” according to the arrest report.
They also noticed marks on the dashboard and suspected a hidden compartment, likely filled with drugs. A K-9 unit was dispatched, and Orozco consented to a search of the vehicle.
However, it was not drugs inside the compartment, but $112,252 in cash, wrapped inside grocery bags.
A U.S. Attorney's Office press release stated:
While being processed into the Harnett County Jail on a charge of driving without a license, Orozco was searched. A folded up $100 bill was removed from his pocket, and as law enforcement unfolded it, several MicroSD memory cards fell out. Orozco lunged for the floor, picked up what appeared to be two memory cards, and put them in his mouth. Officers recovered one chewed half of a memory card from his mouth and three intact cards from the floor.
Law enforcement obtained a search warrant based on possible narcotics trafficking. But upon opening the first MicroSD memory card, they spotted what appeared to be child sexual abuse material, commonly referred to as child pornography. After securing a second search warrant, a full forensic review uncovered over 261 videos and 2 images of child pornography on one MicroSD memory card, another 14 videos on a second memory card, and 5 child pornography thumbnails on the defendant’s smart phone. Most files depicted children under 12 years of age.
A forensics examination showed that the same device that the illegal alien had used to take photos of himself and his car, had been used to collect the child-pornographic images.
Orozco faces up to 240 months in prison when he is sentenced on June 21.
