A Texas man who paid minors to create sexually explicit material was sentenced Tuesday to 60 years in federal prison, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
Victor Torres, 33, of Dumas, Texas, was sentenced to 720 months by U.S. District Judge Matthew J. Kacsmaryk after pleading guilty in May 2025 to two counts of production of child pornography, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas announced.
“This defendant lured vulnerable youth into his despicable crimes and deservedly received a lengthy prison sentence,” U.S. Attorney Ryan Raybould said in a statement. “We will work unceasingly with our local and federal law enforcement partners to remove these types of dangerous predators from the streets of our communities.”
DOJ: Torres Paid Minors for Explicit Images
According to court documents, Torres paid two children — ages 13 to 14 — to send him sexually explicit images and videos online in 2023. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) began investigating after receiving a CyberTip from an online money exchange platform.
Investigators identified multiple accounts Torres allegedly used to communicate with minors. Although he was 30 years old at the time, Torres frequently told the minors he was 17, according to the DOJ. He offered to “pay for content” and instructed the minors on specific poses, acts, and objects to use in the images and videos.
In June 2024, law enforcement executed a search warrant at Torres’s home and seized several electronic devices. Evidence found on the devices included search terms related to child pornography, communications with minors, and additional child sexual abuse material, including content involving toddlers, animals, and other prepubescent children, according to the DOJ.
Multi-State Investigation
HSI’s Dallas Field Office (Amarillo Resident Agency) led the investigation with assistance from HSI offices in Harrisonburg (VA), Buffalo (NY), Columbia (SC), and Charleston (SC), along with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, Amarillo Police Department, Pittsburg County (OK) Sheriff’s Department, and the Texas Department of Public Safety. Assistant U.S. Attorney Callie Woolam prosecuted the case.
The Justice Department said the prosecution was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide effort launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation.