San Antonio Man Sentenced on Multiple Counts Related to Child Pornography

SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced in federal court last week to 17 years in prison for cyberstalking, extortion and distribution of child pornography.

According to court documents, Jaycob Andrew Bustamante, 21, had distributed sexually explicit images of a minor.  Between January 2021 and September 2021, he created multiple social media accounts posing as the victim, through which he posted the sexually explicit images and sent the child pornography to her friends and family. Over the course of Bustamante’s constant harassment, he repeatedly threatened and stalked the victim through social media, placing her and her family in fear of violence, while demanding more sexually explicit images.

“The defendant in this case extorted and harassed a victim to the point she genuinely felt her life was threatened,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas.  “Cyberstalking and online extortion of children and adults is one of the fastest growing crimes.  We and our partners are committed to holding accountable anyone who uses the internet and social media to terrorize, extort and stalk their victims.”

“The significant sentence imposed on Jaycob Andrew Bustamante sends a clear message that there are serious consequences for those who exploit children.  Bustamante will serve the next 17 years in federal prison for his incomprehensible acts,” said Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee of the HSI San Antonio Division.  “We remain committed to working with our law enforcement partners to aggressively pursue those who victimize the most vulnerable members of our society, our children.” 

HSI and the Texas Office of Attorney General investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Bettina Richardson prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

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