HOUSTON – In a landmark ruling, Xavier Jay Reyes, a 26-year-old Houston resident, has been sentenced to a staggering 80 years in federal prison for producing and distributing child pornography. The sentence, handed down by U.S. District Judge David Hittner, also mandates a decade of supervised release with strict limitations on his access to children and the internet.
Reyes pleaded guilty on August 15, 2022, to two counts of sexual exploitation of a child and one count of distribution of child pornography. The court considered numerous impact statements from the minor female victims exploited in Reyes’ sickening collection of child pornography.
In imposing the sentence, Judge Hittner emphasized that such abhorrent acts would not be tolerated in the Southern District of Texas. ‘The damage has been done,’ said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, ‘but we hope this sentence brings some peace to the victims and aids their long journey towards healing.’
The investigation into Reyes began in 2020 during an undercover operation that uncovered his online distribution of violent, coercive, and degrading images and videos depicting a minor female victim. A thorough search warrant led to the revelation of at least two minor female victims being exploited by Reyes over an extended period.
Authorities uncovered a chilling collection of 907 images and 781 videos containing child pornography. Reyes has been in custody since his arrest, and he will be transferred to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility shortly. The investigation was conducted by Homeland Security Investigations, with Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherin Daniel and Luis Batarse prosecuting the case under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative aimed at combating child sexual exploitation.
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Key Facts
- State: Texas
- Agency: DOJ USAO
- Category: Sex Crimes|Cybercrime
- Source: Official Source ↗
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