Mexican national receives more than a decade in prison after attempting to bring drugs and child sexual abuse material across the border

McALLEN, Texas – A 44-year-old Mexican citizen has been ordered to federal prison for transporting child sexual abuse material (CSAM) and importing cocaine, announced U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.

Christian Christopher Rodriguez-Lopez pleaded guilty Aug. 21, 2024.

U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton has now sentenced Rodriguez-Lopez to a total of 151 months for the CSAM and drug trafficking convictions. At the hearing, the court heard additional information including that the CSAM victims ranged in age from infants to 12 years old. This led to enhancements for material depicting prepubescent minors and for sadistic or masochistic material. Rodriguez-Lopez must also serve the rest of his life on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender. Once permitted to reside in the country, his visa was revoked at the time of his arrest, and he is expected to face removal proceedings following his sentence.

In April 2024, Rodriguez-Lopez attempted to enter the United States from Mexico. Upon inspection, law enforcement located approximately five kilograms of cocaine in his vehicle, at which time he admitted to knowingly importing the drug.

Further investigation following his arrest resulted in the additional discovery of CSAM on his cell phone.

“Mr. Rodriguez-Lopez is a perfect example of why our more aggressive approach to border security is so critical,” said Ganjei. “Neither these drugs, nor this defendant, have any place in our communities. Due to the excellent work of our law enforcement partners, this cocaine will never make it to the streets and this offender will spend the next decade in federal prison.”

Rodriguez-Lopez has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

Immigration and Customs Enforcement - Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with the assistance of Customs and Border Protection. 

Assistant U.S. Attorney Sarina S. DiPiazza 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 tab on that page.