Former Border Patrol Agent Ernesto Padron Was Indicted on Child Pornography Charges. Years Later, He Was Hired to Work With Migrant Children.

 

Former Border Patrol Agent Ernesto Padron Was Indicted on Child Pornography Charges. The Case Was Dismissed After the Statute of Limitations Expired.

Ernesto Padron was a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Border Patrol agent when he became the subject of a child pornography investigation.

Padron was arrested and indicted in 2010 on child pornography charges. He subsequently resigned from the Border Patrol.

But the case never resulted in a conviction.

In 2013, the criminal case against Padron was dismissed because the statute of limitations had expired. That distinction matters: the dismissal did not establish his guilt or innocence, and Padron should not be described as having been convicted.

Years later, his name surfaced again for a very different reason.

In 2018, reporting revealed that Padron had been hired to work with migrant children at Casa Padre, a large shelter in Brownsville, Texas, operated by Southwest Key Programs.

The revelation generated public criticism over how someone previously indicted on child pornography charges had obtained a position working around vulnerable children.

There is an important line to keep clear in the Accountability Archive:

Ernesto Padron was indicted. He was not convicted. The charges were dismissed because prosecutors were outside the statute of limitations. Years later, he was hired to work at a shelter housing migrant children.