A Laredo man has been sentenced to 20 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to charges of receiving and possessing child pornography, according to a report by the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Texas. David de los Santos, 33, faced charges that involved explicitly graphic imagery of children, including a minor relative who was just two years old.
The sentencing was passed by U.S. District Judge Diana Saldana, who opted for the maximum possible term, considering the profoundly disturbing nature of the crime. de los Santos was also ordered to pay restitution to the identified victims amounting to $84,304 and, after serving his term, will endure five years of supervised release with strict limitations on his access to children and the internet, and he must register as a sex offender, his capture and these subsequent legal ramifications stem from an investigation that began when authorities linked an IP address to de los Santos and discovered that he had uploaded child pornography online, as per U.S. Attorney's Office.
Using a search warrant, law enforcement officers entered de los Santos' residence on July 1, 2021, where they found several electronic devices harboring a stash of illicit content; including 1,038 images and 393 videos depicting the sexual abuse of babies and toddlers, as reported by the U.S. Attorney's Office Southern District of Texas. The convicted man is currently in custody and awaits transfer to a federal prison, details of which will be determined soon.
The case against de los Santos was part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a DOJ initiative aiming to address the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse, Homeland Security Investigations spearheaded the inquiry alongside the Laredo Police Department as part of the Child Exploitation Task Force, a team also including representation from the FBI, Texas Department of Public Safety, U.S. Marshals Service, and United Independent School District Police, further information about PSC and internet safety education can be found on the Department of Justice's respective pages.
"A parent’s worst nightmare is to discover someone you trusted with your family, such as a relative, was actually preying on your child’s innocence," U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani stated in remarks published by the U.S. Attorney’s Office. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michael Makens prosecuted the case.
