Texas Border Business
U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas
McALLEN, Texas – A 32-year-old Edcouch resident has been sentenced for receiving child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Servando Diaz pleaded guilty March 19.
U.S. District Judge Drew Tipton has now sentenced Diaz to 144 months. At the hearing, the court also heard additional information including that Diaz admitted to downloading child pornography to numerus personal devices for his own use online and offline. In addition, the court heard that his collection of child pornography included a wide range of content including videos that ranged in length, sadistic and masochistic files and bestiality. Diaz was further ordered to pay a $5,000 special assessment 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. He will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
From approximately Nov. 30, 2022, to approximately Dec. 7, 2022, Diaz downloaded child pornography from links he purchased by utilizing cryptocurrency.
Law enforcement conducted an ongoing investigation of offenders engaging in a commercial sexual exploitation ring where child pornography was sold and paid for through cryptocurrency. In return, links were provided to the purchaser via MEGA, a file hosting service.
Authorities identified an individual who purchased child pornography directly from the commercial sexual exploitation ring through their transaction information. An open-source database check confirmed the deposit address in Edcouch belonged to Diaz.
On Aug. 15, 2023, Diaz agreed to an interview with law enforcement and admitted to viewing, purchasing and downloading child pornography for approximately 10 years.
Diaz utilized various platforms including Telegram and MEGA to purchase the links with cryptocurrency. Additionally, Diaz paid approximately $50-150 via PayPal to gain access to a private group known to distribute child pornography on either Discord or Telegram.
Law enforcement conducted a forensic search on his digital devices which resulted in the discovery of 360 videos and 178 image files depicting child pornography including prepubescent children engaging in sexually explicit conduct.
Diaz will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
FBI conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Alexa D. Parcell 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 tab on that page.
Updated June 25, 2024
