Texas man sentenced to 92 months in prison for possessing, distributing child pornography

HOUSTON — A Galveston resident was sentenced April 4 to 92 months in prison for possessing and distributing child pornography following an investigation by Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Houston’s Galveston office and the Houston Metro Crimes Against Children Task Force.

Bryan Calderon, 37, was sentenced in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas to 92 months for the possession of child pornography and 92 months for the distribution of child pornography, both to run concurrently. Calderon was further ordered to pay restitution to the victims, but the specific amount will be determined later. He must also serve 10 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he must comply with requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Calderon must also register as a sex offender.

Calderon pleaded guilty to the charges on March 31, 2022.

At the hearing, the court heard additional information regarding the vast collection of child sexual abuse material found in Calderon’s electronic devices after law enforcement executed a search warrant at his residence in February 2021.

Calderon came to the attention of law enforcement based on a cyber tip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. An IP address appeared to be distributing child pornography to messenger groups using links to cloud storage files. The investigation led to Calderon and his residence in Galveston.

Law enforcement executed a search warrant and seized several electronic devices to include laptop computers and cellphones. Further analysis ultimately revealed Calderon possessed a total of 771 images depicting child sexual abuse material. His collection included prepubescent minors, bondage and bestiality involving minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct.

Calderon will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S Bureau of Prisons facility in the near future.

Assistant U.S. Attorneys Sherin Daniel and Kimberly A. Leo are prosecuting 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 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.