Southeast Texas man sentenced to 19 years for possessing child pornography

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas – Omar Diego Lyra, a 34-year-old Corpus Christi resident, was sentenced Nov. 29 in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 19 years in federal prison for possession of child pornography following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston’s Corpus Christi office and the Victoria and Corpus Christi Police Departments.

Lyra was further ordered to pay $27,000 in restitution to his victims and will serve 20 years of supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to register as a sex offender and be required to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet.

Lyra pleaded guilty to the charges on July 27.

The investigation began June 2022 when authorities discovered images of child pornography on an online platform associated with an email address belonging to Lyra. Law enforcement then executed a search warrant of Lyra’s residence and found images and videos depicting sexual exploitation of minors present on electronic devices in his possession.

At the hearing, the court heard how Lyra engaged in the distribution of images and videos with others. In handing down the prison term, the court noted the seriousness of the offense and that Lyra provided images and videos to others.

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

Assistant U.S. Attorney Patrick Overman prosecuted the case.

For more news and information on HSI’s efforts to aggressively investigate child exploitation and child pornography in Southeast Texas follow us on X, formerly known as Twitter, @HSIHouston.

HSI is the principal investigative arm of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), responsible for investigating transnational crime and threats, specifically those criminal organizations that exploit the global infrastructure through which international trade, travel, and finance move. HSI’s workforce of more than 8,700 employees consists of more than 6,000 special agents assigned to 237 cities throughout the United States, and 93 overseas locations in 56 countries. HSI’s international presence represents DHS’s largest investigative law enforcement presence abroad and one of the largest international footprints in U.S. law enforcement.

Source: U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE.gov)