Katy resident sentenced for distributing sexually explicit material involving toddlers
HOUSTON / Thursday, October 22, 2026 – A 27-year-old man has been ordered to federal prison for distribution and possession of child pornography.
Daniel Berrones pleaded guilty Aug. 27.
U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks ordered Berrones to serve 136 months in federal prison. At the hearing, the court heard additional information, including testimony that described how Berrones used online chat rooms solely to share child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
He was further ordered to pay $25,000 in restitution to the known 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. Berrones will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
On Feb. 7, 2020, authorities discovered CSAM being shared on the Mega application. The activity was traced to a blog that offered users access to the content. Law enforcement discovered an email account that belonged to Berrones distributing CSAM in the chat group.
Authorities executed a search warrant at his residence and discovered approximately 22 videos and 167 images of CSAM on his electronic devices.
Berrones admitted he accessed links containing CSAM from Discord, an instant messaging and distribution platform. He utilized the internet to distribute and store CSAM. He also admitted to saving the images and videos, some of which involved toddlers.
He has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
FBI conducted the investigation.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Hostetter prosecuted the case, which was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice 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.
Source: U.S. Attorney's Office, Southern District of Texas
