Cristian Jose Castro, Child Pornography, Texas 2018

Cristian Jose Castro Pleads Guilty to Child Pornography Charge in Laredo, Texas

A 22-year-old man has pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography in Laredo, Texas. Cristian Jose Castro admitted to viewing and downloading child pornography from the internet on two of his laptops.

According to the U.S. Attorney's office, law enforcement initiated an investigation into suspected possession and distribution of child pornography from a Laredo residence on October 11, 2018. They later executed a federal search warrant at the address and encountered Castro.

Castro admitted that he obtained the child pornography from certain messaging applications and file-sharing programs via the internet using the wi-fi network at his residence. He stated that he had previously viewed adult pornography but became bored with it and started watching child pornography when he was just nine years old.

Castro also admitted that he had searched, downloaded, and viewed child pornography as recently as the month before he was questioned by law enforcement. He stated that the children appearing in the images ranged in age from seven to 12 years old, and that he had also downloaded pornography featuring infants and toddlers.

A forensic analysis of one of Castro's seized laptops included over 2,000 images of child pornography.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing at a later date. At that time, Castro faces a minimum of up to 20 years in federal prison.

Castro was permitted to remain on bond pending sentencing.

The FBI and Immigration and Customs Enforcement's Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Michael Bukiewicz and Francisco Rodriguez are prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdtx/pr/laredoan-pleads-guilty-child-pornography-charge