South Texan gets max for possessing videos showing abuse of child

LAREDO, Texas – A 27-year-old Cotulla resident has been ordered to prison for possessing child pornography, including content he created from his abuse of a minor victim, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Jose Luis Lara pleaded guilty Feb 1, 2022.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo has now imposed a 20-year-term of imprisonment, the maximum allowed under the statute. In handing down the sentence, the Judge noted the extremely disturbing nature of Lara’s acts toward a minor child, remarking that she would have given him more time if she could.

Authorities identified Lara in 2021 after they learned of an individual sharing child pornography online who may have also abused a child.

On July 21, 2021, law enforcement executed a search warrant at his home in Cotulla and discovered and seized several electronic devices. They also showed him a photo of a minor child whom Lara then acknowledged he knew.

Lara admitted to filming videos of him abusing that child. He said he filmed them in Big Wells before moving to Cotulla.   

Law enforcement ultimately identified a total of 1,151 images and 699 videos containing child pornography, including the videos Lara had filmed himself.

Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Michal Makens prosecuted 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.