Lewisville police helped lead an investigation in a case of suspected child sexual abuse material, and someone is now behind bars.
Paulo Gonzales of McKinney was arrested on Wednesday, Aug. 26 for allegedly possessing visual material depicting sexual assault, the department announced Friday.
According to officials, the investigation began in July when detectives with the Lewisville Police Department’s Internet Crimes Against Children and Crimes Against Children units received multiple tips through the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
During the investigation, detectives identified Gonzales as a suspect through administrative subpoenas and search warrants, eventually obtaining an arrest warrant for him and his residence in McKinney.
On Aug. 26, Lewisville PD’s SWAT Team searched Gonzales and his residence, and he was arrested.
Lewisville PD was assisted by the Dallas Police Department ICAC Unit, as well as Dallas PD’s Electronics Detection Canine, which is trained to locate electronic and digital storage devices.
The work helped the departments gather evidence.
“As a result of the investigation and evidence located during the search, Gonzales was charged with two counts of Possession of Visual Material Depicting Sexual Assault,” said Lewisville PD in a press release.
One charge was from a warrant with Denton County, and the second charge was filed in Collin County based on material located while searching the McKinney residence.
According to the Denton County Jail, Gonzales was being held on a combined $100,000 bond with conditions, but was released on Saturday, Aug. 29 after posting bond.
“The Lewisville Police Department remains steadfast in its mission to protect our community’s most vulnerable,” said Lewisville PD in a statement. “We will vigorously investigate and prosecute any individual who seeks to sexually exploit children, utilizing every local, state and federal resource at our disposal to bring offenders to justice.”
Lewisville PD thanked the neighboring departments that assisted in the arrest of the suspect.
“This case demonstrates the importance of cooperation among specialized units and law enforcement agencies in investigating crimes involving the exploitation of children,” said the department.
