Red Bluff Man Sentenced to 24 Years in Prison for Sexual Exploitation of a Child

Ricardo Gutierrez, 28, of Red Bluff, was sentenced Friday by U.S. District Judge Dena Coggins to 24 years and four months in prison for sexual exploitation of a child, U.S. Attorney Eric Grant announced.

According to court documents, in April 2024, Gutierrez used four prepubescent children, including one toddler, to create two videos of the children engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Gutierrez recorded himself and the child victims on video through Facebook Messenger.

Law enforcement was alerted about Gutierrez by a woman Gutierrez met on the Tinder dating app. Gutierrez had sent the woman an unsolicited photograph that depicted a clothed minor female approximately 6-8 years old looking away from the camera, accompanied by three iMessage emojis of a face with a hand over the mouth. Gutierrez then asked the woman if she had access to young girls. Gutierrez also sent the woman an unsolicited 17-second video that depicted an adult male engaged in sexually explicit conduct with a minor female approximately 5-8 years old.

Between November 2023 and July 2024, Gutierrez distributed several child sexual abuse images and videos to others through his Telegram and WhatsApp accounts, and via iMessage. This included the distribution of a video that depicted an adult male engaged in sexually explicit conduct with an infant. Gutierrez also possessed more than 4,800 files depicting the sexual abuse of children on his phone. The files included images of children engaged in sexual acts with adults and other children.

This case was the product of an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Nchekube Onyima prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by the United States Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state, and local resources to locate, apprehend, and prosecute those who sexually exploit children, and to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit https://www.usdoj.gov/psc. Click on the "resources" tab for information about internet-safety education.