Admitted Child Rapist Sentenced to 50 Years for Child Pornography

A Dallas man who repeatedly raped a 7-year-old child was sentenced Wednesday to 50 years in federal prison, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.

Luis Humberto Rodriguez, 30, plead guilty in January 2021 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography. He was sentenced Wednesday by U.S. District Judge Brantley Starr to 30 years in prison on the production count plus 20 years in prison on the transportation count to run consecutively, for a total of 50 years behind bars.

In plea papers, Mr. Rodriguez admitted that he filmed himself sexually abusing a seven-year-old Jane Doe on multiple occasions, then shared the images with others over the social media application Kik.

At Wednesday’s sentencing hearing, an agent testified that the defendant also admitted to sexual contact with four additional victims – including a one-year-old toddler and a special needs child.

Per court documents, the investigation into Mr. Rodriguez began when agents in Olympia, Washington seized an iPad from a registered sex offender and discovered conversations between the offender and Mr. Rodriguez.  In it, the defendant discussed a child porn “trade” and offered up his email address.

Law enforcement tracked Mr. Rodriguez to Dallas and searched his home, where they seized a smartphone containing videos of the defendant sexually abusing a child and a collection of child pornography that Mr. Rodriguez estimated exceeded 20 gigabytes.

In plea papers, Mr. Rodriguez admitted that he possessed more than 600 videos and images of child pornography, including “sadistic” imagery.

“The sexual exploitation of children is unconscionable.  It is the mission of HSI Dallas to secure the safety of all children.  Now that justice has prevailed, our hope is that the victims, their families, and the community will now begin their journey of recovery with this predator behind bars,” said HSI Dallas Special Agent in Charge Lester R. Hayes Jr.

Homeland Security Investigations’ Dallas and Olympia Field Offices conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted the case.