Arizona Border Patrol agent charged with child sexual abuse images

PHOENIX – A U.S. Border Patrol agent from Arizona has been charged in a case involving child sexual abuse material, authorities announced Friday.

According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Arizona, a grand jury on Tuesday indicted Nereo Mejia Gomez Jr., 41, of Yuma, on multiple counts of producing, distributing and possessing sexually explicit images of minors.

He was also charged with possession of an unregistered short-barreled rifle. In total, he faces eleven charges and a prison sentence of more than 100 years. The maximum sentences for the crimes range from 10 to 30 years.

Why was an Arizona Border Patrol agent charged?

Gomez is alleged to have produced sexually explicit images of a girl between the ages of 15 and 16 on four occasions between November 2022 and March 2023. He is also accused of distributing child sexual abuse material five times in February and March 2024 and of possessing images and the unregistered firearm in April.

Prosecutors said the Yuma Sector Border Patrol cooperated in the investigation, which was being conducted by Homeland Security Investigations.

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