A 34-year-old Uvalde County man is in custody after federal agents and local deputies descended on a property in the early morning hours Friday, executing a search warrant tied to allegations of child sexual abuse material. Matthew Keith Chaney was arrested for what Uvalde County Sheriff Ruben Nolasco described as alleged activities involving material related to the sexual exploitation of minors.
Nolasco announced the arrest in a Facebook post, saying Chaney was taken into custody after the warrant was carried out on Friday. According to WOAI, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations executed the search warrant during the early morning hours, with Uvalde County deputies assisting the federal agency. Chaney is alleged to have received or distributed child pornography, per the station's report.
A Familiar Federal-Local Partnership
HSI's involvement in the case follows a well-worn pattern in this stretch of South Texas. Homeland Security Investigations serves as the principal federal investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security and maintains specialized Child Exploitation Task Forces throughout South Texas, operating out of regional offices in Del Rio and San Antonio, according to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. HSI routinely conducts online child exploitation probes under Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in May 2006 to pool federal, state, and local resources against digital child predators, per the Department of Justice.
The Uvalde County Sheriff's Office and HSI have worked together before. In August 2024, a joint operation resulted in federal indictments against 15 individuals on a drug distribution conspiracy, according to the Department of Justice. That history of cooperation extends into child exploitation cases as well — Hoodline previously reported on a Uvalde County probe involving a former Sabinal High School coach that was also investigated jointly by HSI and local deputies.
A Recent Local Precedent
Chaney's arrest also arrives less than a year after another Uvalde case reached a resolution in federal court. In December 2025, 38-year-old Uvalde resident Gabriel Garcia was sentenced in Del Rio federal court to 10 years in prison for possessing child sexual abuse material, following a joint investigation by HSI and the Uvalde County Sheriff's Office, as Hoodline reported at the time.
It remains unclear whether Chaney will face charges in state or federal court. If prosecuted under Texas Penal Code § 43.26, possessing visual depictions of child pornography is classified as a third-degree felony punishable by two to 10 years in state prison and up to a $10,000 fine for a first offense, according to the Neal Davis Law Firm. Those penalties can rise to second- or first-degree felonies if prior convictions exist or large quantities of files are found.
Federal Exposure Carries Steeper Penalties
Should federal distribution or receipt charges be filed instead, the exposure is considerably greater. Under 18 U.S.C. § 2252 and § 2252A, knowingly receiving or distributing child sexual abuse material carries a mandatory minimum sentence of five years and up to 20 years in federal prison for a first-time offense, according to the Department of Justice. Federal convictions for these offenses also carry mandatory sex offender registration requirements and post-release supervised release conditions that strictly limit internet access and contact with minors, per the department.
Texas law does provide some limited legal defenses in possession cases. Under Texas Penal Code § 43.26(f), affirmative defenses exist for individuals who promptly report or destroy unsolicited illicit material upon discovery, or who possess it for authorized law enforcement purposes, according to the Whalen Law Office. It is not known from available records whether any such defense applies in Chaney's case.
Sheriff Nolasco, who announced the arrest, won reelection to his post in May 2024 after securing 52% of the vote in a Republican primary runoff against challenger Otto Arnim, according to the Uvalde Leader News. The case adds to a string of child exploitation investigations that have surfaced in Uvalde County in the past two years, as federal agencies continue to prioritize internet-facilitated child exploitation cases nationwide — an effort the Department of Homeland Security expanded in 2024 with its Know2Protect public awareness campaign.
No further details on formal charges, file counts, or bond conditions had been released as of Friday's report. Court dockets in the Western District of Texas's Del Rio Division and Uvalde County district court records may clarify how the case proceeds in the coming weeks.
