Palmview man gets life sentence for ongoing sexual abuse of child

McALLEN, Texas (ValleyCentral) — A 35-year-old man was sentenced for producing child sexual abuse material (CSAM) of a family member and coercing the production using various chat platforms, the U.S. Attorney’s Office announced.

On July 3, 2023, New York authorities discovered inappropriate images were being sent to an eight-year-old. A review of the conversation revealed the victim had sent sexually explicit videos of herself to an unknown individual using TextNow and WhatsApp.

During the conversation, the suspect identified as Jesus Adrian Barraza-Vega pretended to be a 13-year-old and sent images depicting a male’s genitalia and messages that were sexually explicit, including requests for the minor victim to engage in sexual acts.

In February 2024, law enforcement executed a federal search warrant for a cellphone identified as belonging to Barraza-Vega.

The forensic extraction revealed CSAM including videos and images of a minor relative, the release stated.

The material included images and videos of Barraza-Vega engaging in various sexual acts with this victim. The videos and images dated from about Nov. 11, 2020, to about Jan. 18, 2024.

Law enforcement conducted a search and determined the subscriber information for the IP address was traced back to where Barraza-Vega previously resided including his current location in Palmview.

During an interview with Barraza-Vega, he confirmed his prior residences, email addresses and phone number and that he used the apps.

All the information was linked to the accounts used to coerce and entice the production of CSAM from the victim in New York.

Barraza-Vega’s ongoing abuse of a minor family member continued until just days before his encounter with law enforcement.

“Our sincere hope is that the children who Barraza-Vega victimized can now have some measure of peace,” said U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. “Crimes against children committed in the Southern District of Texas will be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible. The life sentence handed down today against Mr. Barraza-Vega should be a warning to other would-be abusers.”

Barraza-Vega pleaded guilty on Oct. 9 and was sentenced to serve life in prison. He is ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to a known victim and $60,000 in fines.

FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the U.S. Border Patrol and police departments in Mission and Palmview.