SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced today to 151 months in prison for distributing child pornography.
According to court documents, Dario Torres, 40, was identified by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) as trafficking child pornography in social media chatrooms. On March 21, 2018, a search warrant was executed at his residence where agents located two cellular phones belonging to Torres. One phone contained approximately 130 videos and 761 images depicting the sexual abuse and exploitation of children. Forensic agents also found that Torres had shared three of the videos on social media. The other phone contained 6,908 images and 141 videos depicting children engaged in sexually explicit conduct, including bondage and bestiality.
On February 13, 2020, Torres pleaded guilty to one count of distribution of child pornography. In addition to the sentence, Torres was ordered to pay $65,000 in restitution. Torres has remained in federal custody since his arrest on April 6, 2019.
“We will continue to vigorously prosecute those who distribute child pornography as they violate the sanctity and innocence of our children,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “We remain grateful for our law enforcement partners as we work together to protect kids and hold these offenders accountable for the harm they cause in our society.”
“HSI San Antonio, along with our law enforcement partners around the nation remain committed in identifying individuals distributing child pornography on the internet,” said HSI Acting Special Agent in Charge Craig Larrabee. “Investigating those who prey on our most vulnerable population remains a top priority for HSI. This sentence sends a clear message that there are severe consequences for those who exploit children in any way and HSI will continue to dedicate our resources to identify these individuals and bring them to justice.”
HSI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson 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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