Judge Sends Sugar Land Resident to Prison for Child Pornography Charges

HOUSTON – A federal judge has found a 44-year-old legal permanent resident who lived in Sugar Land guilty of receipt, access with intent to view and possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick. U.S. District Judge Alfred H. Bennett found Jacinto Lopez-Toledo guilty on Dec. 12, 2017, following two days of trial.

Today, Judge Bennett sentenced Lopez-Toledo to 120 months in prison to be immediately followed by 10 years of supervised release during which 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. The court also imposed a $15,000 fine and a $10,000 special assessment for the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act.

Lopez-Toledo came to the attention of law enforcement after investigators found evidence that he was accessing files from a website known to contain child pornography. A search warrant was executed on his residence on Dec. 1, 2015, at which time investigators seized two desktop computers, a laptop computer and an external hard drive.

The forensic examination of the seized devices revealed Lopez-Toledo had 50,216 images and 941 videos of child pornography. These images and videos included children under the age of 12, bondage and acts of violence. Some of the images are of known victims as identified through the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

At trial, the court found Lopez-Toledo had an additional 527,844 images and 969 videos which appeared to be child pornography but could not be confirmed as involving a minor. The court also heard that Lopez-Toledo had been collecting and viewing child pornography for several years, dating back to as early as 2003.

Lopez-Toledo has previously admitted he would view and download child pornography from the internet and also from file sharing networks. Prior to trial, he argued those statements should be suppressed as well as the original search warrant which started the overall investigation.

The judge ultimately found him guilty as charged.

Previously released on bond, Toledo-Lopez was ordered into custody following the verdict where he will remain pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI and the Pearland Police Department conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Sugar Land Police Department and Immigration and Customs Enforcement’s Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Julie N. Searle and Kimberly Leo prosecuted the case.