HOUSTON – A 36-year-old man has been ordered to prison for production and distribution of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Jennifer B. Lowery.
Richard Reyes Trigo pleaded guilty Sept. 22, 2021.
Today, U.S. District Judge Jeffrey Brown sentenced Trigo to 360 and 240 months for the production and distribution convictions, respectively. They will run concurrently for a total 30-year-term of imprisonment. At the hearing, the court also heard additional information that detailed the serious and damaging nature of the offense.
In handing down the prison terms, the court noted “the seriousness of the defendant’s actions.” Trigo was further ordered to pay $3000 in restitution to the victims and will serve 10 years 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. Trigo will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
From July 13-14, 2020, Trigo had been communicating with someone he believed was a person with similar interest in child pornography. Trigo continued to engage in conversations via Kik – a site individuals with a sexual interest in children often frequent.
During this time, Trigo accessed and interacted in a social media forum that contained terms commonly associated with the sexual exploitation of children. In it, he admitted he was sexually active with his two-year-old minor female relative and had performed sexual acts on her. Trigo later sent four sexually-explicit images of the minor, some of which focused on her private area.
Trigo also claimed to be sexually active with an eight-year-old minor relative.
Trigo has been in custody since being determined a danger to the community and a flight risk. He will remain there pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherin Daniel and Sherri L. Zack 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.