A Mexican citizen living in McAllen, Texas, has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to receiving child pornography involving infants and toddlers. The announcement was made by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.
Jose Julian Garcia Garza, 36, entered his guilty plea on April 2. U.S. District Judge Drew B. Tipton imposed a 120-month sentence during a recent hearing, where the court reviewed evidence that Garza used a virtual private network to conceal his activities and may have used child sex dolls to recreate videos he had downloaded.
Garza was ordered to pay $104,500 in restitution to 14 victims and will be subject to supervised release for 10 years following his prison term. During this period, he must comply with restrictions on internet use and contact with children and will be required to register as a sex offender. As Garza is not a U.S. citizen, authorities expect he will face removal proceedings after serving his sentence.
Law enforcement discovered in July 2024 that Garza was using a peer-to-peer file sharing program to download and upload child sexual abuse material (CSAM), including videos depicting infants and toddlers engaged in sexual conduct.
During a search of Garza’s bedroom, authorities found the lower portion of an infant-sized doll, two child-sized lifelike sex dolls, various sex toys, and a custom hard drive containing nearly one thousand images and videos of CSAM.
“The facts underlying this investigation are as telling as they are disturbing,” said Ganjei. “By all accounts, Garza appears to be the kind of person who would not be satisfied by only passively viewing CSAM. Fortunately, law enforcement was able to locate and arrest Garza before he could start physically preying on children.”
Garza remains in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The FBI led the investigation into the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney M. Alexis Garcia prosecuted the case under Project Safe Childhood (PSC), an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 aimed at combating child sexual exploitation through collaboration among federal, state, and local agencies [DOJ’s PSC page](https://www.justice.gov/psc). The project focuses on prosecuting offenders while also working to identify victims and provide internet safety education resources [resources tab on that page](https://www.justice.gov/psc).
