A federal judge sentenced a Katy man to 11 years and four months in prison for distributing and possessing child sexual abuse material, including files involving toddlers, federal prosecutors announced Thursday.
Daniel Berrones, 27, pleaded guilty on August 27. U.S. District Judge George C. Hanks imposed the 136-month prison term and ordered him to pay $25,000 in restitution to known victims, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas said in its October 22 release.
Berrones will serve five years of supervised release after prison, with conditions restricting his access to children and the internet. He also must register as a sex offender, prosecutors said.
The investigation began on February 7, 2020, when authorities discovered people sharing child sexual abuse material through the Mega application. Investigators traced the activity to a blog that provided access to the material and identified an email account belonging to Berrones that distributed files in a chat group, according to the release.
Authorities later searched his home under a warrant and found approximately 22 videos and 167 images of child sexual abuse material on his electronic devices.
Berrones admitted accessing links to the material through Discord and using the internet to store and distribute it. He also acknowledged saving images and videos, including material involving toddlers, prosecutors said.
At sentencing, the court heard testimony describing Berrones’ use of online chat rooms solely to share child sexual abuse material, according to the release.
Berrones remains in custody while awaiting transfer to a federal prison. Authorities have not yet designated the facility, prosecutors said.
The FBI investigated the case, and Assistant U.S. Attorney Ben Hostetter prosecuted it through Project Safe Childhood. The Justice Department launched the nationwide initiative in May 2006 to coordinate efforts against child sexual exploitation and abuse.
