Photo Contributed/Courtesy GCSO: Jose Angel Hernandez, 33, was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison for possessing child pornography on his mobile phone.

John Johnson

john johnson news@gmail.com

Safford – Accidental viewing of a cell phone belonging to a man on probation led to the discovery of child pornography and was ultimately jailed.

Safford’s 33-year-old Jose Angel Hernandez was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison on Wednesday. The case was prosecuted by Graham County Attorney L. Scott Bennett, with Daisy Flores serving as counsel.

Faced with 19 counts of sexual exploitation of a minor, Hernandez took a plea bargain and was found guilty of one count of sexual exploitation of a minor – Class 2 felony, and attempted sexual exploitation of a minor. pleaded guilty to three amended counts – class 3 felonies.

Per the prescribed plea, Hernandez was given 13.5 years on sexual exploitation charges and was also given three probation “tails” for each modified count of attempted sexual exploitation. On his release from prison, he will be placed on probation and must be registered as a sex offender. Failing probation could get him from five years to 15 years in prison on each count.

The lawsuit against Hernandez began on August 19, 2020, when Graham County probation officers found multiple videos on Hernandez’s cell phone showing young children being sexually assaulted.

When questioned about the footage, Hernandez admitted he knew it was “underage porn” and said he downloaded it from the internet. Earlier, I expressed my desire not to answer any more questions.

In December 2020, Safford Police were notified by the Arizona Department of Public Safety that a full analysis of Hernandez’s call and its contents had been completed.

A forensic examination of Hernandez’s Motorola cell phone identified 31 images and 9 videos as child abuse/illegal child pornography.