Raleigh man pleads guilty to U.S. child-pornography charges based on 2014 arrest

A Raleigh man pleaded guilty in federal court Monday to manufacturing child pornography that included video and still pictures of himself with a 10-year-old girl.

Pedro Jaime Ensenat, 43, also entered a guilty plea to possessing child pornography, the U.S. Attorney's office in Raleigh said.

The federal charges stemmed from evidence that local police gathered from his home in 2014 after they got a search warrant based on a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, the U.S. attorney said.

The Triangle area's federal-state-local joint task force that investigates child pornography cases traced suspected porn uploaded to the internet to a computer address at Ensenat's home on Inland Trail.

Raleigh police charged Ensenat with second-degree sexual exploitation of children in November 2014. That charge involves sharing or reproducing child pornography.

A Wake County grand jury indicted Ensenat in December 2014 on a charge of first-degree sex offense with a child.

A federal grand jury indicted Ensenat in August 2017, alleging five counts of making child pornography, six counts of receiving it.

Police who examined files found on Ensenat's computer found more than 700 child pornography images and 32 videos, prosecutors said. They involved infants, toddlers and prepubescent children, they said.

The guilty pleas will bring a sentence of 15 to 50 years , a fine up to $500,000 and lifetime parole after Ensenat is released from prison, the U.S. attorney's office said.

Prosecutors said Ensenat's case was handled as part of Project Child Safe, a national program that uses prosecution at all levels of government to punish criminals who exploit children, an announcement of Ensenat's pleas said.

Ron Gallagher 919-829-4572@RPGKT

This story was originally published April 3, 2018 at 11:57 AM with the headline "Raleigh man pleads guilty to U.S. child-pornography charges based on 2014 arrest."