CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – A 34-year-old Corpus Christi resident has been sentenced for possession of child pornography, announces U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Omar Diego Lyra pleaded guilty July 27.
U.S. District Judge David Morales has now sentenced Lyra to 228 months in prison. At the hearing, the court heard Lyra engaged in distribution of images and videos with others. In handing down the prison term, the court noted the seriousness of the offense and that Lyra provided images and videos to others. Lyra was further ordered to pay $27,000 in restitution to the victims and will serve 20 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. Lyra will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
The investigation began June 2022 when authorities discovered images of child pornography on an online platform associated with an email address belonging to Lyra. Law enforcement then executed a search warrant of Lyra’s residence and found images and videos depicting sexual exploitation of minors present on electronic devices in his possession.
Lyra has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations conducted the investigation with assistance of the Victoria and Corpus Christi Police Departments.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Overman 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.