Jury deliberates 15 minutes, convicts Lyford smuggler on child porn charge

A 43-year-old human smuggler from Lyford was convicted Tuesday of possessing 150 images and videos of child sexual abuse material following a one-day trial, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas announced in a press release.

Following the verdict, Jose Rodriguez Jr. was taken into custody.

The jury took just 15 minutes to convict the man, according to the release.

Law enforcement initially arrested Rodriguez on Aug. 12, 2024 during an attempt to smuggle people in the country illegally.

When investigators seized his phone, they found the images and videos of child sexual abuse.

During the trial, the jury heard testimony and evidence about how the material was downloaded and stored on his phone over multiple months.

“The evidence included numerous files depicting sexual assaults of prepubescent children,” the release stated. “The jury also learned Rodriguez has a prior conviction for criminal attempted sexual assault from 2010 which involved a minor victim.”

The release said Rodriguez’s defense attorney tried to convince jurors a virus downloaded the sexual abuse material to his phone.

“However, evidence showed that Rodriguez had over 100 user accounts on the phone linked to him and that the child pornography was downloaded on 20 separate occasions from April through August of 2024,” the release stated.

A forensic computer expert also testified that it was his opinion that the pattern of activity indicated intentional downloading.

Nicholas J. Ganjei, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas, said his office is grateful to the jury for serving justice.

“The Southern District of Texas has zero tolerance for child sex offenses, much less repeat sex offenders like the defendant in this case,” Ganjei said in the release.

Rodriguez was also charged in the human smuggling event and has pleaded guilty.

Sentencing is scheduled for July 15 where Rodriguez faces up to 20 years in prison.

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