Queens man sentenced to 2 to 6 years for child porn

A Queens man who prosecutors said had thousands of images and videos of child pornography on his home computer was sentenced Monday to 2 to 6 years in prison.

Ernest Hernandez, 29, of Sunnyside, was sentenced by Acting Queens Supreme Court Justice Suzanne Melendez, according to a news release from the office of Queens District Attorney Richard Brown.

In March, Hernandez pleaded guilty to promoting a sexual performance of a child and admitted to authorities that he had been looking at child pornography since he was 17, the release said.

Brown said in the release that "child pornography strikes at the heart of innocence -- sexually victimizing the youngest and most vulnerable members of our society." He called the images and videos on Hernandez's computer "vile and extremely disturbing."

According to the court records, Brown said, a forensic examination of the computer and hard drives uncovered nearly 3,000 images and more than 600 videos of children of various ages engaged in sex acts.