A 54-year-old Floresville man was sentenced in San Antonio to 216 months, or 18 years, in federal prison for distributing child sexual abuse material through the messaging app Kik. Jose David Carvajal Jr. was also ordered to pay $35,000 to seven victims, forfeit items used to commit the offense and serve lifetime supervision once he is released.
The sentence, handed down Tuesday, was announced by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas, according to KSAT. U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced the sentence in a news release, per the station's report.
Years-Long Membership in a Kik Group
Prosecutors said Carvajal was part of the Kik group for more than six years, the outlet reported. Court documents cited in the same report say he sent child sexual abuse material and bragged about sexually assaulting a young child.
A forensic review of Carvajal's phone, according to prosecutors, found hundreds of images and videos depicting prepubescent children in sexually explicit conduct, the station's report states. The release also says Carvajal sexually touched a child and took pictures of a child showering without their knowledge. The FBI identified and arrested him, per the same account.
Restitution and Supervision Requirements
Beyond the prison term, Carvajal was ordered to forfeit items used to commit the offense and will be subject to lifetime supervision after his release, KSAT reported. Federal law makes restitution mandatory in these cases; under 18 U.S.C. § 2259, a court cannot decline to order restitution because of a defendant's financial situation or a victim's eligibility for other compensation. The distribution offense Carvajal was sentenced for carries a statutory range of five to 20 years in prison, according to 18 U.S.C. § 2252A.
How the Sentence Compares
Carvajal's 216-month sentence sits within the range seen in other recent federal cases involving distribution of child sexual abuse material. A Garden Ridge man was sentenced to 210 months in prison and ordered to pay $30,000 in restitution to six victims, according to the U.S. Department of Justice, Western District of Texas. A separate Floresville man was sentenced to 200 months for transporting similar material to others, the department said in another release.
Outside Texas, a 23-year-old man was sentenced to 13.5 years in prison for distributing child sexual abuse material from a naval base in Kittery, Maine, and was ordered to pay $34,500 to victims along with lifetime supervised release, according to News Center Maine. In Kansas, 21-year-old Jordan Mark Morrison was sentenced to 210 months plus 10 years of supervision for sending videos depicting child sexual abuse through Discord, as reported by The Wichita Eagle.
Federal sentencing data illustrate how much these outcomes can vary even among defendants facing identical guideline calculations. The U.S. Sentencing Commission found that sentences for 190 similarly situated distribution offenders ranged from less than one month to 240 months, despite those offenders sharing the same guideline calculation.
