Miguel Alejandro Morales-Garcia, Child Pornography, Texas 2018

A Houston man is headed to federal prison for producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. Miguel Alejandro Morales-Garcia pleaded guilty on February 7, 2018.

Today, District Judge David Hittner sentenced Morales-Garcia to 327 months in prison, to be immediately followed by a lifetime term of supervised release. During this time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.

The lengthy sentence comes just a day after a suburban man received 35 years for sexually exploiting a child and possessing child pornography.

The investigation into Morales-Garcia began when an agent with Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) entered an online chat room in an undercover capacity. The agent observed a user, later identified as Morales-Garcia, stream a live video of what appeared to be a minor female, approximately three to five years of age.

The minor was watching a video or show on a tablet with a blue case while wearing white earbud-style headphones. Within seconds, the camera angle panned to the right, showing Morales-Garcia masturbating. The distance between Morales-Garcia and the minor victim appeared to be a few inches, with only a small brown pillow separating them.

Through the investigation, agents identified the minor victim as a relative of Morales-Garcia. A forensic examination of his iPhone, pursuant to a federal search warrant, revealed images of Morales-Garcia engaging in sexual contact with the minor victim.

HSI conducted the investigation, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Kimberly Ann Leo prosecuted the case as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.

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