A Texas man has been sentenced to 40 years in prison on child pornography charges, resulting from his online relationship with a minor.
The San Antonio man, 24-year-old Francisco Govea Tristan III, used a social media platform to coerce the minor to send photos and videos of sexually explicit content, according to a U.S. Attorney’s Office and court documents.
"When confronted by law enforcement, Tristan admitted he asked the minor to produce and send him pornographic images and videos," said the attorney's office. "He also admitted he had other child pornography on his mobile phone."
Tristan pled guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography, according to the Western District of Texas U.S. Attorney’s Office.
“The defendant was a child predator who inflicted significant damage on his victims, which is reflected in his sentence,” said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. “These types of crimes leave a wake of destruction and brokenness for both the child victims and their families. This office is committed to ensuring that this defendant and others like him are removed from society and further damaging others.”
The FBI investigated the case, said the U.S. Attorney's office; and Tristan has been in federal custody since his arrest in 2019.
“Those who harm children in this way may hide behind a computer or smartphone and use the internet to commit these crimes, but that does not mean that they are anonymous and can use those tools to produce child sexual abuse material,” said FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs. “Anytime a person uses the internet to entice a minor to produce child pornography, the FBI will use all its resources to identify and prosecute those offenders.”
