Urbana man arrested, accused of possessing child sexual abuse material
In March of 2024, the Champaign County Sheriff's Office received a cyber tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC). According to the tip, 26-year-old Jesus Gonzalez-Martinez was in possession of Child Sexual Abuse Material (CSAM).
Decatur man accused of possessing child sex abuse material
The sheriff's office conducted a 'thorough investigation,' and detectives confirmed that the material was linked to Gonzalez-Martinez. He was arrested, and police said he later confessed to possessing the material.
Now, Gonzalez-Martinez is facing three counts of child pornography possession. On Thursday, he appeared in court for his arraignment, entered a plea of not guilty and requested a trial by jury. On Friday, he'll be back in court for a detention hearing.
The Champaign County Sheriff's Department said that this remains an 'active and ongoing investigation.'
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Hashtags

Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles


The Hill
2 days ago
- The Hill
WATCH: Texas coach arrested after assault during youth softball game
MCALLEN, Texas (KVEO) — An umpire's call during a Texas softball game resulted in one coach behind bars — and not those of the dugout. On Saturday night, during the last game of the evening at the Protect Our Nation's Youth International Softball League in McAllen, Texas, parents were in the stands watching their girls play a softball game. During one of the plays, the umpire called an obstruction. One of the team's coaches became upset by the umpire's call and rushed onto the field to voice his disagreement. The coach, identified as Joel Gonzalez, approached the female umpire who made the call. A criminal complaint obtained by Nexstar's KVEO states that the umpire began to explain her ruling to Gonzalez, but he was displeased by this and began using foul language. As a result of his behavior, she ejected him from the game. KVEO obtained video of the incident which shows the two walking away from each other and then meeting up again near home plate. This time, however, Gonzalez nudged the woman with his chest. The other umpire on the field was the female umpire's father. When he saw what was happening, he ran to home plate where the assault was taking place to separate the man and get him off the field. The male umpire began leading the man with one arm back to his dugout. When Gonzalez refused to stand down, the female umpire called off the game, separated herself from the disagreement, and walked to the other side of the field. When the umpire had her back turned to home plate, video appears to show Gonzalez running over and slamming into her with his body, causing her to fall to the ground. Gonzalez was seen wearing a red, white, and blue shirt in the video, the same shirt that appeared in his mugshot. Shortly after the game was called, Gonzalez was arrested by McAllen Police and charged with assault causing bodily injuries. The umpire who was pushed to the ground told authorities that she was holding her umpire helmet at the time of the assault, and pinched her fingers in the metal wire on it when she fell. KVEO reached out to PONY Softball League for a statement regarding the incident. A representative from the organization said that appropriate actions were taken and that Gonzalez will never be allowed to coach on their fields again. The representative noted that the day after the incident the organization requested extra security at the ballpark to ensure that parents and players felt safe. Additionally, Dalinda Gonzalez-Alcantar, CEO of the McAllen Boys & Girls Club issued the following statement after the incident: 'The safety and well-being of our community at Boys & Girls Club of McAllen (BGCM) is our highest priority. We take every situation that might impact the safety or well-being of individuals very seriously. We are aware of a physical altercation between adults at the Softball Complex during a sports tournament. At the time of the incident all protocols were followed and the situation was quickly de-escalated onsite and contained by law enforcement. While the individuals involved were not directly associated with BGCM, we unequivocally do not condone the alleged use of harmful words or actions on Club premises. Our organization will continue to provide the highest level of safety of all participants and attendees.'


CBS News
2 days ago
- CBS News
Modesto youth soccer coach faces child porn charges, police say
A Turlock man who coaches a youth travel soccer team based out of Modesto is accused of possessing and distributing child pornography, officials said Wednesday. Turlock's Police Department said a cybertip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children led to the investigation into and the arrest of Matthew Paez, 33. Paez was found to have uploaded child porn files "to an internet-based platform," police said. Several electronic devices found during a search of his home on Meandering Lane are being analyzed for additional evidence. None of the players coached by Paez are believed to be a victim, police said. Paez was taken into custody on Monday and faces one count of possession of child pornography and one count of distribution of obscene material involving a minor, police said.


Miami Herald
3 days ago
- Miami Herald
Girl knocked out with gummies, others missing in ‘chilling' smuggling case, feds say
A Texas woman was sentenced to prison after officials said she tried to smuggle a young girl into the United States across the Texas border. Vanessa Valadez, 23, pleaded guilty to conspiracy to transport into the United States an undocumented alien, according to court records. She was sentenced to a year and a half in prison. The sentencing stems from what officials called a 'child smuggling ring,' according to a July 22 news release from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas. From August to September 2023, Valadez, along with multiple family members, brought young kids from Nuevo Laredo, Mexico, into the United States illegally, officials said. Each smuggled child was under 5 years old, according to prosecutors. 'This smuggling case ranks among the most chilling we've ever seen — involving the systematic trade of transporting young children to unknown final destinations,' U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani said in a September 2024 news release. On Sept. 19, 2023, a young girl was taken from a stash house that the smuggling ring operated out of, officials said. Co-conspirators smuggled the girl across the border to Laredo and delivered her to Valadez, prosecutors said. Co-conspirators then took the girl further into the country and took her to unknown people, officials said. Valadez's attorney, Silverio Martinez, told McClatchy News his client admitted to her involvement, but she had good intentions. 'Families would come over illegally and eventually ask for their children to be brought over, one by one,' Martinez said. 'That was her understanding.' Martinez said the children were not being brought into the country for sex trafficking or any other violent intentions. He said Valadez's family members were the ones smuggling the children so when kids were brought around her, she would sometimes feed and care for them, but he said the 'government overplayed her involvement.' Two days after the girl was dropped off with Valadez, members of the ring tried to transport another young girl over the border but were caught during a routine border inspection, prosecutors said. In their attempt to bring the girl into the US, the members sedated her with melatonin gummies and obtained a fake birth certificate, officials said. 'One text message uncovered in the investigation showed an image depicting an unconscious child and a caption, 'La noquiamos con unas gomitas,' translated in English as 'we knocked her out with some gummies,'' officials said. Investigators discovered several other attempts were made to bring at least four girls into the country, prosecutors said. Three of those girls are still unidentified, and officials don't know where they are, according to prosecutors. Martinez said Valadez was only involved in the one incident and she took responsibility for it in court, admitting to her role. He said she had no part in sedating any children with gummies or any other substances. Five other people in connection with the case previously pleaded guilty and have been sentenced to prison.