Gulfport man to serve 20 years in child exploitation case

A Gulfport man will serve 20 years in prison after pleading guilty to child exploitation.

District Attorney W. Crosby Parker said 41-year-old Gabriel Lizana pleaded guilty this week to the charge. He was sentenced to 40 years by Judge Christopher Schmidt, with 20 years suspended, followed by 5 years of probation.

Harrison County investigators got a tip from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that a Gmail account belonging to someone in Harrison County had uploaded hundreds of images of child pornography.

Investigators identified Lizana through his Gmail account and other information and obtained a search warrant.

“During the execution of the search warrant, investigators recovered multiple devices containing images and videos of known child pornography. Lizana also admitted to investigators he downloaded and possessed the child pornography.” said Assistant District Attorney, Ian Baker.

Lizana will not be eligible for parole or early release, and must serve the entire 20 year sentence day for day. He also must register as a sex offender.

“The protection of children from sexual predators is and will always be a priority of the District Attorney’s Office, and we will continue to vigorously prosecute those who prey on children and anyone who consumes the product of that exploitation,” said Parker.