A 27-year-old Mexican citizen, Emmanuel Jacobo Reyes, was sentenced to 35 years in federal prison for producing child pornography. The sentencing was announced by United States Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Ryan Raybould.
Reyes pleaded guilty in July 2025 to one count of production of child pornography and one count of receipt of child pornography. U.S. District Judge Terry Means handed down a sentence of 420 months in federal prison.
Court documents reveal that Reyes enticed a minor living in North Texas to engage in sexually explicit conduct, produce images, and send them to him while he resided in North Carolina. The Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Fort Worth Field Office, using information from the North Richland Hills Police Department, reviewed the victim’s phone and found screenshots showing video chats between Reyes and the victim. Agents identified Reyes through his visible face in some screenshots, located his social media profile, confirmed his identity, and determined his location.
The investigation involved multiple agencies including FBI Fort Worth Field Office, FBI Raleigh (NC), North Richland Hills Police Department, and Raleigh Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Allyson Monte prosecuted the case.
"This case was part of the FBI’s national Operation Restore Justice, a coordinated enforcement effort to identify, track and arrest child sex predators. The operation resulted in the rescue of 115 children and the arrests of 205 child sexual abuse offenders in the nationwide crackdown. The coordinated effort was executed over the course of five days by all 55 FBI field offices, the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section in the Department’s Criminal Division, and United States Attorney’s Offices around the country. In many cases, parental vigilance and community outreach efforts played a critical role in bringing these offenders to justice," according to information released by authorities.
The Justice Department continues its commitment against child sexual exploitation through Project Safe Childhood. This initiative began in May 2006 with cooperation among U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and other divisions aimed at locating offenders who exploit children online as well as identifying victims.
Additionally, the Department partners with organizations such as the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), which provides resources for reporting suspected child exploitation via its hotline or website.
Authorities urge anyone with information about suspected child exploitation to report it through official channels such as tips.fbi.gov or local FBI field offices.
