CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (KVEO) — A Corpus Christi resident will spend seven years in prison for possessing child pornography.
On Thursday, the U.S. District Court ordered Lazaro Eugene Velasquez, 44, to serve the sentence after it was revealed he possessed hundreds of images and videos of child pornography, including some images of a local child which the defendant knew.
An investigation also revealed that Velasquez had a child-sized sex doll made of rags and clothed in children’s items that were covered in semen.
Officials discovered pictures that Velasquez owned of a local child, which were not originally pornographic. However, Velasquez altered these photos with captions that made it appear the child was asking Velasquez to perform sexual acts on her.
The investigation began on Velasquez in February 2019, when law enforcement learned he used his father’s computer to upload child porn to the internet.
When investigators searched Velasquez’s residence, they found the sex doll on his bed, children’s clothing in his closet, and a notebook containing stories detailing sexual abuse of children.
Investigators searched further and found more than 700 images and videos containing child porn on Velasquez’s cell phone. There were 69 images of the aforementioned local child who Velasquez knew for several years.
He pleaded guilty to the child porn charges on January 21 and was given his sentencing on Thursday.
Velasquez will serve 15 years on supervised release following his seven year prison term. He will be ordered to register as a sex offender.
The district court notes that while Velasquez did not sexually abuse a child, this kind of action victimizes minors and creates a demand for child pornography to be produced.
