A 43-year-old McAllen resident has been sent back to prison for possession of child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.
Rene Javier Sarmienta pleaded guilty on March 20, 2023.
U.S. District Judge Randy Crane has now ordered Sarmienta to serve 120 months in federal prison. In handing down the prison term, the court noted it was unfortunate that Sarmienta relapsed and needed therapy.
Sarmienta was further ordered to pay $3,000 in restitution to each of the 12 victims and will serve five years on supervised release following the completion of his prison term. During that time, he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the Internet.
The court also noted his previous conviction of possessing child pornography in 2002 and that he would be spending another significant amount of his life in prison.
The investigation began when law enforcement discovered Sarmienta had been purchasing child pornography using a PayPal account. He also failed to report having several social media accounts to local authorities as required due to his status as a sex offender.
A forensic examination of Sarmienta’s cell phone revealed 6,300 images of child pornography. Several of the images included prepubescent minors and sadomasochistic conduct.
He will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the McAllen Police Department.
