Mission man pleads guilty for receiving more than 100 pornographic files of children as young as three

McALLEN, Texas – A 34-year-old man has admitted to receipt of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.

As part of his plea, Esteban Luna-Caudillo admitted to receiving files containing child pornography from May 10, 2019, through May 18, 2022, by utilizing an online-based cloud storage account. Luna-Caudillo also admitted that a portion of the files he received depicted prepubescent children engaged in sexually-explicit conduct.

At the time of his arrest, Luna-Caudillo provided his phone to law enforcement. Within the phone, federal agents found over 100 videos of minor children who ranged in age from approximately three to 12 years old engaged in illicit sexual activity with adults.

U.S. District Judge Micaela Alvarez has set sentencing for Feb. 16, 2023. At that time, Luna-Caudillo faces a mandatory minimum of five and up to 20 years in federal prison.

He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Devin V. Walker is prosecuting the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.