An Edinburg man has been sentenced to a term of over six years in federal prison on charges of receiving child pornography via a messaging app. The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of Texas has reported that Lazaro Segundo-Vazquez, a 21-year-old resident, received a sentence of 78 months after a guilty plea earlier this year for receiving over 1,800 images and videos containing child sexual abuse material.
The investigation, which was sparked by an alert from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, found that Segundo-Vazquez had been utilizing his cellular phone to not just receive, but also to subsequently upload child sexual abuse material to a Google account. According to a statement by the Department of Justice, the material depicted minors, including prepubescent children and toddlers, engaged in sexual acts.
Chief U.S. District Judge Randy Crane's sentence also includes a provision for $3,000 in restitution to three victims and a 10-year period of supervised release. During this time, Segundo-Vazquez will have to comply with numerous restrictions designed to limit his internet access and contact with children. He is also required to register as a sex offender.
Segundo-Vazquez's case was prosecuted as part of Project Safe Childhood, a DOJ initiative aiming to tackle the epidemic of child exploitation and abuse. Homeland Security Investigations' Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the underlying investigation. According to Assistant U.S. Attorney Cahal P. McColgan, who prosecuted the case, this collaborative approach to law enforcement ensures that individuals who commit such offenses are held accountable and that the innocent victims are to be safeguarded and rescued.
