Document ID: s3://data.kl3m.ai/documents/govinfo/USCOURTS/USCOURTS-cand-4_18-cr-00369/USCOURTS-cand-4_18-cr-00369-0/pdf.json

Parties Involved:
Freddy Jorge Horna
Defendant
USA
Plaintiff

Document Text:

[PROPOSED] DETENTION ORDER 

CR 18-0369 JSW 1 

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ALEX G. TSE (CABN 152348) 

United States Attorney 

BARBARA J. VALLIERE (DCBN 439353) 

Chief, Criminal Division 

CHRISTINA McCALL (CABN 234139) 

Assistant United States Attorney 

1301 Clay Street, Suite 340S 

Oakland, California 94612 

Telephone: (510) 637-3680 

christina.mccall@usdoj.gov

Attorneys for Plaintiff 

UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT 

NORTHERN DISTRICT OF CALIFORNIA 

OAKLAND DIVISION 

UNITED STATES OF AMERICA, 

Plaintiff, 

v. 

FREDDY JORGE HORNA, 

 Defendant. 

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Case No. CR 18-0369 JSW 

[PROPOSED] DETENTION ORDER 

 

Hearing: August 16, 2018 

Time: 9:30 a.m. 

Court: Hon. Kandis A. Westmore 

Defendant Freddy Jorge Horna is charged in a one-count indictment with distribution of child 

pornography, in violation of 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2). If convicted of Count One, defendant Horna faces 

a mandatory minimum sentence of five years in prison, and a statutory maximum sentence of 20 years. 

At the initial appearance, the United States moved for defendant Horna’s detention, pursuant to 

18 U.S.C. §§ 3142(f). There is a presumption of detention because this case involves a child victim, 

pursuant to 18 U.S.C. §§ 3142(e)(3)(E). United States Pretrial Services wrote a bail study for this case, 

and recommended that defendant Horna be released on a $100,000 bond, secured by his godmother’s 

property, with a number of conditions, including those required by 18 USC § 3142(c)(1). 

At the detention hearing on August 16, 2018, many of defendant Horna’s relatives, including his 

proposed sureties/co-signers, were present. Defense counsel argued that a bond, secured by a property 

in which the owner has some equity, plus other conditions such as electronic monitoring and no 

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[PROPOSED] DETENTION ORDER 

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computer usage, and no contact with minors other than the defendant’s own children, would be 

sufficient to meet the requirements of the Bail Reform Act. Defense counsel emphasized that defendant 

Horna had minimal criminal history prior to this arrest, with only one conviction for driving under the 

influence of alcohol years ago (a case where the defendant made his required court appearances). 

Defense counsel argued that defendant Horna owned his own business, that he has been living in the bay 

area since 2001, and that he has family ties to the Northern District of California, and that he is a 

naturalized United States citizen. 

Government counsel emphasized that Congress has designated distribution of child pornography 

as a crime of violence under 18 U.S.C. § 3156(a)(4), which carries a presumption of detention under 18 

U.S.C. § 3142(e)(3)(E). Government counsel argued that the Pretrial Services bail study did not take 

into account the first two factors that Congress says the Court shall take into account: (1) the nature and 

circumstances of the offense charged (18 U.S.C. § 3142(g)(1)) and the weight of the evidence against 

the person (18 U.S.C. § 3142(g)(2)). 

Government counsel summarized some of defendant Horna’s alleged conduct in the active 

criminal investigation, and proffered that the defendant and a female suspect in Peru have been engaged 

in a conspiracy to distribute and receive child pornography. The government proffered that the child 

pornography electronic files being traded by defendant Horna and the female suspect contain hundreds 

of images and videos not previously known to law enforcement, but instead portraying the female 

suspect’s eight-year-old daughter being sexually abused or photographed in lascivious displays of her 

genitals. The government proffered that defendant Horna was engaged in a sexual relationship with the 

female suspect (the victim’s mother), who disappeared approximately a day after the defendant was 

arrested, leaving her four minor children behind in Lima, Peru. The government indicated that the eightyear-old victim, who was left in the care of her grandparents, was “rescued” by Peruvian National Police 

approximately two days before the detention hearing. The government argued that some of defendant 

Horna’s electronic communications suggest that he wanted to engage in sexual activity with the eightyear-old victim, and read portions of some of those electronic communications. 

Government counsel marked a number of exhibits during the detention hearing, which will be 

returned to the government. One of those exhibits is allegedly a digital photograph of defendant Horna, 

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the female suspect, and the eight-year-old victim together in an outdoor setting. Another exhibit shows 

Western Union money transfers Horna allegedly made in the past two years to the female suspect, 

totaling over $2,000. The government indicated that there appear to be other victims beyond the eightyear-old now-identified victim, referencing a girl about seven years old (there is a blanket visible in the 

video) who appears in a child pornography video in defendant Horna’s possession. That video has not 

been previously encountered by law enforcement agents. A Spanish-speaking Homeland Security 

Special Agent read a portion of a Facebook Messenger exchange between defendant Horna and the 

female suspect from April 1, 2018, when defendant Horna allegedly sent the female suspect multiple .gif 

files showing an apparent toddler being raped by an adult male. 

The government argued that defendant Horna has strong incentive to flee, given the seriousness 

of the charges, the likelihood of future serious charges relating to child sexual exploitation, and the fact 

that his co-conspirator has now disappeared. The government emphasized that the defendant has strong 

ties to Peru, the financial ability to flee this district, and has a substantial history of international travel 

(including to Peru). 

The Court found that the nature and circumstances of the offense weigh heavily in favor of 

detention. The Court noted that this case does not appear to be the typical child pornography case, 

where a typical defendant downloads and possesses child pornography files, but does not have access to 

the victims depicted in those files. In this case, the Court concludes that defendant Horna poses a 

special level of dangerousness, since he clearly had access to the eight-year-old victim, and since he had 

an ongoing relationship with the victim’s mother (the female suspect who allegedly sexually abused the 

victim). The fact that there are potentially other victims involved in defendant Horna’s alleged criminal 

conduct weighs in favor of detention. The Court noted that if defendant Horna is convicted in this case, 

the applicable mandatory minimum sentence (and potentially more serious future charges) increase the 

risk that the defendant will not appear at future court dates if released on a bond. 

Although defendant Horna’s personal history and characteristics, such as community ties, very 

limited prior criminal history, and full-time employment weigh in favor of release, the Court concluded 

that those characteristics are substantially outweighed by the nature and circumstances of the offense 

and the weight of the evidence against the defendant. 

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 Based upon the information proffered by the government at the detention hearing, the Court 

found that there is probable cause to believe that defendant Horna committed an offense involving a 

minor victim under 18 U.S.C. § 2252(a)(2). See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(e)(3)(E). The Court found that 

defendant Horna has failed to rebut the statutory presumption that no condition or combination of 

conditions will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant as required and the safety of the 

community. Id. The Court also found that the government has met its burden to show that defendant 

Horna should be detained as both a danger to another person and a risk of non-appearance at future court 

proceedings. The Court finds that a property bond, and the other conditions recommended by the 

Pretrial Services bail study and by defense counsel are not sufficient to overcome these risks. 

ORDER 

Defendant Horna is ordered detained as no condition or combination of conditions contained in 

18 U.S.C. § 3142(c) will reasonably assure the appearance of the defendant and the safety of the 

community as required. 

Defendant Horna is committed to the custody of the Attorney General or a designated 

representative for confinement in a corrections facility separate, to the extent practicable, from persons 

awaiting or serving sentences or held in custody pending appeal. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(i)(2). Defendant 

Horna must be afforded a reasonable opportunity to consult privately with counsel. See 18 U.S.C. § 

3142(i)(3). On order of a court of the United States or on request of an attorney for the government, the 

person in charge of the corrections facility must deliver Defendant Horna to the United States Marshal 

for a court appearance. See 18 U.S.C. § 3142(i)(4). 

IT IS SO ORDERED. 

DATED: 

HON. KANDIS A. WESTMORE 

United States Magistrate Judge 

 

8/21/18

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