Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

BEAUMONT, Texas – A Port Neches man has pleaded guilty to federal child pornography violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei today.

Rion Carlos, 40, pleaded guilty to transportation of child pornography today before U.S. Magistrate Judge Christine L. Stetson.

“Viewing, possessing, trading, or transporting child pornography ultimately drives demand for its production,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei.  “EDTX is committed to punishing those on both the production and consumption side of this disgraceful and exploitive industry.”

According to court documents, Carlos admitted to using the internet and a cellular phone to provide an individual with links to a cloud storage service, causing the transport of over 300 images of child pornography, including some images that depicted prepubescent minors.

Carlos was indicted by a federal grand jury on June 2, 2021.  He faces up to 20 years in federal prison.  The maximum statutory sentence prescribed by Congress is provided here for information purposes, as the sentencing will be determined by the court based on the advisory sentencing guidelines and other statutory factors.  A sentencing hearing will be scheduled after the completion of a presentence investigation by the U.S. Probation Office.

This case is part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section (CEOS), Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

This case is being investigated by Homeland Security Investigations and prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Rachel Grove.