A former College Station teacher, Daniel Byrd, has been sentenced to five years in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) online. Byrd, 31, pleaded guilty to the charges on November 25, 2024. U.S. District Judge Kenneth M. Hoyt sentenced him to 60 months in prison, citing concerns about his inability to control his behavior. Byrd will also serve 10 years of supervised release with conditions that severely restrict his contact with children and internet access, as per the U.S. Attorney's Office.
The investigation began when law enforcement discovered Byrd sharing CSAM on platforms like Telegram and Kik. A search of his home revealed that he used a cloud service, Mega, to store and distribute the material. Byrd is required to register as a sex offender, and authorities seized his devices, including his smartphone.
Byrd was a teacher in the Navasota area at the time of his arrest. The FBI, College Station Police Department, and Brazos County Sheriff's Office were involved in the investigation. The case was part of Project Safe Childhood, an initiative by the Department of Justice to combat child exploitation and abuse. Byrd is now in custody awaiting transfer to a federal prison.
