A 57-year-old Harlingen man has been ordered to serve 168 months in federal prison for possessing child sexual abuse material.
U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei announced the sentence against Todd Edward Ellison. U.S. District Judge Fernando Rodriguez Jr. imposed the term on Monday along with lifetime supervised release. The supervised release includes restrictions meant to limit Ellison’s contact with children and his access to the internet.
Ellison pleaded guilty to the offense on December 17, 2024. The court was informed during the hearing that he had been convicted of child exploitation offenses twice before. He will be required to register as a sex offender, and restitution for the victims will be decided later.
The case started in May 2020 when investigators obtained a search warrant for Ellison’s residence. They were looking into allegations that he had used social media to impersonate and harass a female victim. Officers seized multiple digital devices.
A forensic examination later confirmed that Ellison knowingly possessed child sexual abuse material on those devices, including more than 1,500 images and 21 videos of child pornography.
Ellison remains in custody as he awaits transfer to a federal prison facility.
The case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, the Justice Department program started in May 2006 to fight child sexual exploitation and abuse.
