Repeat offender imprisoned for child pornography

U.S. Attorney’s Office, Southern District of Texas | Press Release

A 43-year-old McAllen resident has been sent back to prison for possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

Rene Javier Sarmienta pleaded guilty March 20, 2023.

U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Sarmienta to serve 120 months in federal prison. In handing down the prison term, the court noted it was unfortunate Sarmienta relapsed and needs therapy. Sarmienta was further ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to each of 12 victims and will serve five years on supervised release following completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. The court also noted his previous conviction of possessing child pornography in 2002 and that he would be spending another significant amount of his life in prison.

The investigation began when law enforcement discovered Sarmienta had been purchasing child pornography using a PayPal account. He also failed to report having several social media accounts to local authorities as required due to status as a sex offender.

A forensic examination of Sarmienta’s cell phone revealed 6,300 images of child pornography. Several of the images included prepubescent minors and sadomasochistic conduct.

He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the McAllen Police Department.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys M. Alexis Garcia and Tyler Foster prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) 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 link on that page.