A Laredo man has been sentenced to 360 months in prison for possessing over 47,000 child pornography images, including some of minor relatives.
U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani announced the sentencing of Kristopher Santos, 31, on .
Santos pleaded guilty to sexual exploitation of a child and possession of child sexual assault material (CSAM) on March 28, 2023.
U.S. District Judge Lee H. Rosenthal sentenced Santos to 360 months for the sexual exploitation of a child and 240 months for the possession of child pornography convictions, which will run concurrently for a total 360-month term of imprisonment.
In addition to his prison sentence, Santos was ordered to pay $126,000 in restitution to the victims and will serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Santos will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
The investigation that led to Santos’ sentencing began in 2019 when authorities identified him as a suspect during an undercover investigation into peer-to-peer network activity. On April 12, 2019, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home and discovered several electronic devices containing a vast collection of child pornography, including 47,729 images and 7,667 videos.
Authorities also found a trunk full of sex toys and children’s underwear at Santos’ residence. Santos acknowledged that the trunk belonged to him and admitted to touching two minor relatives inappropriately and taking naked pictures of the children exposing themselves.
The case was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens and was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.
HSI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Webb County Sheriff’s office.
Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Category: Sex Crimes
- Source: DOJ Press Release â†â€â€
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