San Jose man accused of sharing 10,000 child pornography images

SAN JOSE, Calif. (KGO) -- The Santa Clara County Sheriff's Office Sexual Assault Felony Task Force, or SAFE, arrested San Jose resident Dennis Valle Cruz, 61, for allegedly distributing and possessing child pornography.

He's suspected of sending illicit images of young children from his home computer.

Officials began their probe some time ago, and downloaded thousands of images and video from the suspect's computer.

What officials saw sickened the most seasoned investigators.

Cruz reportedly works for a tech firm.

"I'm shocked. Can't believe it's true," one woman said.

Shock and disbelief is how neighbors reacted after finding out why law enforcement officers rushed into the home on Oakwood Avenue. "We served a search warrant on a sex predator that has been trafficking in child pornography, some of the most vile any of our detectives have seen," Santa Clara County Sheriff Laurie Smith said.

Cruz is accused of sharing at least 10,000 images of children on his computer. "These are not only vile images. Many are infants

and it's horrible, that's a terrible predator," Smith said. "In fact, when we did the search warrant he was in the process of downloading child pornography as we went through the door."

Neighbor Michael Williams has a 3-year-old child who plays in a park across the street from where Cruz lives. "Just to find out it's happening right here, that's pretty amazing. I'm glad he got caught," neighbor Michael Williams said.

When ABC7 News knocked on Cruz's door, an elderly woman answered through a kitchen window, but said she didn't know anything.

When asked if Cruz lived at the residence, she responded by saying she didn't know and that she was the maid.

ABC7 News still doesn't know if she's the maid or not, but a neighbor said the home belongs to his aging mother.

The sheriff said the investigation continues.

They want to see if any of the children can be identified and who else was sharing the images.

Cruz was arrested on charges of possession and distribution of child pornography and he was booked into the Santa Clara County Main Jail.

Bay City News contributed to this story.