A California man has been sentenced to 15 years in federal prison for attempting to produce child pornography following an undercover investigation in South Dakota.
Juan Pedro Gobea, 34, of Thermal, California, was sentenced Feb. 9. He will also serve five years of supervised release, pay a $100 special assessment, and must register as a sex offender.
Gobea was indicted in December 2024 and pleaded guilty in November 2025. Prosecutors say he tried to persuade someone he believed was a 15-year-old girl to send explicit images during a March 2024 undercover chat operation. The account he contacted belonged to an officer posing as a minor.
The case was investigated by the South Dakota Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force and Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Elizabeth Ebert-Webb prosecuted the case.
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