HOUSTON — A 27-year-old Houston man has been sentenced to 12 years in federal prison for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, federal authorities announced.
Daniel Berrones, who pleaded guilty Aug. 27, was sentenced to 144 months in prison by U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks.
During the sentencing hearing, the court heard testimony describing how Berrones used online chat rooms exclusively to share child sexual abuse material, also known as CSAM.
Hanks also ordered Berrones to pay $25,000 in restitution to identified victims and serve five years of supervised release after completing his prison sentence.
During his supervised release, Berrones must comply with restrictions designed to limit his access to children and the internet. He also will be required to register as a sex offender.
The investigation began Feb. 7, 2020, when authorities discovered child sexual abuse material being shared through the Mega file-sharing application.
Investigators traced the activity to a blog that provided users access to the illegal content. They subsequently identified an email account belonging to Berrones that was being used to distribute the material in an online chat group.
Federal agents executed a search warrant at Berrones’ residence and discovered approximately 22 videos and 167 images depicting child sexual abuse on his electronic devices.
Berrones admitted accessing links to the illegal material through Discord, an online messagi
ng and communication platform. He also acknowledged using the internet to distribute and store the material.
Investigators determined that Berrones saved images and videos, some depicting the sexual abuse of toddlers.
Berrones remains in federal custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The FBI investigated the case.