An Edcouch man has been sentenced to a 12-year prison term for his involvement in acquiring and possessing child pornography. The 32-year-old Servando Diaz entered a guilty plea on March 19 and U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton imposed the sentence, which also includes a special assessment of $5,000 and a decade-long supervised release after his prison term concludes, with stringent conditions to limit his internet access and contact with children, additionally mandating Diaz to register as a sex offender, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office.
Diaz's illicit download activity spanned approximately from Nov. 30, 2022, to Dec. 7, 2022, where he used cryptocurrency to purchase child pornography from a ring that commercialized sexual exploitation through the sale of such disturbing content, law enforcement's investigation revealed the perpetrator as they traced the transactions leading to his digital doorstep in Edcouch; on August 15, 2023, Diaz conceded to the authorities his longstanding engagement in the deplorable act for nearly a decade.
His method of procurement involved platforms such as Telegram and MEGA to buy access to the illegal material, using both cryptocurrency and payments through PayPal which ranged from roughly $50 to $150, to enter private groups notorious for distributing child pornography. A forensic examination of his devices by law enforcement officers unearthed 360 videos and 178 images of children depicted in sexually explicit situations, some including very young prepubescent individuals.
This sentence comes as part of the joint efforts of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a DOJ initiative launched in 2006 aimed at curbing the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation, which works closely with federal, state, and local partners to track down culprits who exploit children and assist in the rescue of the victims; more information on PSC can be found on the DOJ's dedicated website, where resources for internet safety education are also available to the public.
