Registered Sex Offender Gets 15 Years After Nearly 10K Explicit Images of Children Found

Texas Border Business

U.S. Attorney’s Office Southern District of Texas

HOUSTON – A 71-year-old Bacliff man has been ordered to federal prison for possession of child sexual abuse material for the second time.

Wesley Joseph Slanina pleaded guilty Dec. 17, 2024. 

U.S. District Judge Jeffrey V. Brown has now sentenced Slanina to serve 186 months in federal prison. The sentence will 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. 

At the hearing, the court held him accountable for possessing over 7,000 images and heard additional information that Slanina was previously convicted of possessing child sexual abuse material and using a government-issued laptop to access prohibited material. Slanina was further ordered to pay $71,000 in restitution to the victims and will also be ordered to re-register as a sex offender.

The investigation began in June 2019 when law enforcement discovered Slanina sharing multiple files containing child sexual abuse material using peer-to-peer software. The videos and images depicted children, including infants and toddlers, in various sexual acts. 

On June 10, 2020, authorities executed a search warrant at his home and discovered and seized several electronic devices. 

Forensic analysis of his personal computer and 129-gigabyte storage card resulted in the discovery of 2,503 videos and 7,172 images containing child sexual abuse material. 

Slanina will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future. 

FBI conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Kimberly A. Leo, Amanda Alum and Michael Day prosecuted the case. 

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice 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 July 8, 2026