Dumas Man Sentenced to 20 Years for Transportation of Child Pornography
A Dumas, Texas man was sentenced Tuesday to 20 years in prison for Transportation of Child Pornography, announced U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Leigha Simonton.
Landon Joseph Garcia, 39, pleaded guilty in April 2023 to one count of transportation of child pornography. He was sentenced Tuesday by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk, who also ordered him to pay $46,500 in restitution.
“Those who create, view and distribute child sexual abuse materials reinforce a cycle of victimization and trauma each time the content is shared,” said Lester R. Hayes, Jr., Special Agent in Charge HSI Dallas. “Prosecuting the predators that traffic these images is truly a collaborative effort and we are grateful for the support we share with our law enforcement partners.”
According to court documents, in June 2022, Texas Department of Public Safety received information from the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children that an online Kik user was transporting child pornography. Law enforcement later determined that Mr. Garcia was associated with the Kik account.
In July 2022, law enforcement officers executed a search warrant at Mr. Garcia’s residence and located Mr. Garcia in a restroom deleting child pornography images from his cell phone. Mr. Garcia later admitted to using his cell phone to view, download and transport child pornography for over ten years. The cell phone contained 1,620 video files containing child pornography.
The Texas Department of Public Safety and Homeland Security Investigations’ Amarillo Field Office investigated the case. Assistant U.S. Attorney Joshua Frausto of the Northern District of Texas prosecuted the case.