A 71-year-old Bacliff man will spend more than 15 years in federal prison after admitting he stockpiled nearly 10,000 sexually explicit videos and images of children, according to prosecutors. U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown on Wednesday ordered Wesley Joseph Slanina to serve 186 months behind bars, followed by 10 years of supervised release and $71,000 in restitution. Prosecutors said this is Slanina’s second federal conviction for possession of child sexual abuse material.
Sex offender sentenced to 15 years for possessing nearly 10,000 sexually explicit videos and images of children #ProjectSafeChildhood #Houston
— U.S. Attorney SDTX (@USAO_SDTX) July 8, 2026
Evidence, Plea and Sentence
In a press release, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said Slanina pleaded guilty on Dec. 17, 2024, following an FBI investigation that began in June 2019. Agents executed a search warrant at his home on June 10, 2020, and a forensic review of his personal computer and a 129-gigabyte storage card uncovered 2,503 videos and 7,172 images of child sexual abuse material.
According to the release, the court held Slanina responsible for that material, ordered $71,000 in restitution and required him to re-register as a sex offender as part of his sentence.
Earlier Rulings and Court Record
Federal court records on Justia show Slanina has appeared in earlier federal litigation, including a 2004 appellate opinion that questioned aspects of an earlier possession prosecution. That history helps explain why the judge and prosecutors referenced his prior record during sentencing.
Part of a Wider Enforcement Push
The prosecution was handled under the Justice Department’s Project Safe Childhood initiative, which brings together federal, state and local partners to investigate and prosecute online child exploitation cases, according to Project Safe Childhood.
As reported in a Pearland laptop stash case, federal prosecutors in the Houston–Galveston region have secured multiple child sexual abuse material convictions this year.
Next Steps
Slanina will remain in federal custody pending transfer to a Bureau of Prisons facility. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Leo, Amanda Alum and Michael Day prosecuted the case.
