Caught with child porn, Chinese woman pleads guilty

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A woman from China pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography on Monday.

Jinyi Zheng, 18, of China illegally crossed the border near Hidalgo in February. When federal agents searched her phone, they discovered six videos that showed children being sexually abused.

“Guilty,” Zheng said Monday morning, when she appeared before a judge at the federal courthouse in McAllen. 

Border Patrol caught Zheng crossing the border on Feb. 12, 2025.

After they detained Zheng, agents requested permission to search her iPhone. Zheng agreed.

“A forensic extraction was conducted of the iPhone 14 and during the examination of the videos ‘folder’ by HSI Special Agents (SA), approximately six (6) videos were discovered that met the federal definition of child pornography,” according to the criminal complaint against Zheng.

One video showed a girl being sexually abused by a man.

“In the video, the minor female is attempting to cover her face,” according to the criminal complaint, “and she is crying.”

Border Patrol contacted Homeland Security Investigations, which is part of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HSI charged Zheng with transportation of child pornography.

Zheng appeared in court Monday wearing a blue jail uniform and blue shoes.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexa D. Parcell, who is prosecuting the case, said they had negotiated a plea agreement.

Prosecutors agreed to drop the transportation of child pornography charge, which is punishable by 5 to 20 years in prison.

In exchange, Zheng agreed to plead guilty to possession of child pornography, which is punishable by a maximum of 20 years in prison — with no minimum. Zheng also waived her right to appeal.

Sentencing is scheduled for August.