San Angelo, Texas, Man Sentenced To 210 Months In Federal Prison On Child Pornography Conviction

LUBBOCK, Texas — Victor Lopez, 47, of San Angelo, Texas, was sentenced yesterday by U.S. District Judge Sam R. Cummings to 210 months in federal prison, following his guilty plea in March 2013 to one count of receipt of child pornography. In addition, Judge Cummings ordered that Lopez serve an additional 20-year term of supervised release. Today’s announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Sarah R. Saldaña of the Northern District of Texas.

Lopez has been in federal custody since his arrest following the execution of a federal search warrant at his residence by special agents with U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s (ICE) Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) on January 23, 2013. He was indicted in February 2013 on several counts of receiving and possessing child pornography.

According to plea documents filed in the case, Lopez admitted that he used file-sharing software to collect numerous videos of child pornography, including depictions of sadistic and masochistic conduct.

The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative, which was launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice, to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. Led by U.S. Attorney’s Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals, who sexually exploit children, and identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/. For more information about internet safety education, please visit http://www.justice.gov/psc/ and click on the tab “resources.”

The case was investigated by ICE HSI and the San Angelo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney Steven M. Sucsy prosecuted.