Man Attempted To Swallow Memory Cards Containing Child Porn To Destroy Evidence, Evade Arrest

A Mexican national who reportedly attempted to swallow memory cards containing pornographic images of minors to destroy evidence has been convicted of child pornography charges and sentenced to 12 years in prison.

David Sierra Orozco, 31, a Mexican national and a recent resident of Georgia, has been sentenced to 12 years in prison on Monday, Aug. 23, after officers of the Harnett County Sheriff's Office discovered nearly 300 videos and several images of child pornography in his possession in 2017.

Orozco reportedly tried to swallow some of his memory cards containing child pornography in order to destroy the evidence during a shake-up, WITN-TV reported.

Orozco was arrested by Harnett County Sheriff's Office deputies just outside the city of Dunn on July 25, 2017, for driving erratically while not having a valid driver's license. He was stopped by the officers after they spotted that his Lexus twice drifted from the center lane.

After being flagged by authorities, Orozco reportedly appeared extremely nervous and was sweating profusely even though his air conditioning was on. The officers proceeded to search the vehicle and found a hidden “trap” in his dashboard containing US$111,252 in cash wrapped by grocery bags, the Fayetteville Observer reported.

While Orozco was searched as he was being processed into the Harnett County Jail for driving without a driver's license, a folded up US$100 bill was removed from his pocket and several MicroSD memory cards fell out along with it.

Orozco reportedly suddenly lunged at the items, picked up two memory cards, and put them inside his mouth, attempting to swallow the cards in order to destroy the evidence. Police officers managed to recover one half-chewed memory card from his mouth and three intact cards from the floor.

Authorities retrieved over 261 videos and two images of child pornography from one memory card, another 14 videos from a second chip, and five child pornography thumbnails from Orozco's mobile phone. The victims depicted in the photos and videos were reportedly children under 12 years of age, according to the United States Department of Justice.

“Orozco thought he could hide his crimes by swallowing a memory card, but he will find it tougher to swallow the fact that he will now be held accountable for his predatory behavior,” Ronnie Martinez, who oversees Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) operations in North Carolina and South Carolina, said.

Orozco will be deported back to Mexico after the end of his sentence.