March 4, 2024 – ALPINE, Texas – A Marfa man was sentenced in a federal court in Pecos to 97 months in prison for one count of possession of child pornography and one count of transportation of child pornography.

According to court documents, FBI agents executed a search warrant and discovered Patricio Javier Serrano, 36, was in possession of multiple photos and videos depicting child sexual abuse material stored on his cell phone and in his phone’s web browser. Serrano, who had been a volunteer youth softball coach, was arrested May 11, 2023, and has since remained in federal custody. He pleaded guilty to both charges in the indictment without a written plea agreement in October.

U.S. District Judge David Counts sentenced Serrano to 37 months in prison for the possession charge and 60 months for the transportation charge. Serrano will serve both sentences consecutively.

“This case demonstrates that predators cannot transmit or receive child sexual abuse material and hide behind their screens without risk of prosecution,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza for the Western District of Texas. “Thank you to our local, state and federal law enforcement partners for their collaboration to help make this community and our children safer.”

“It’s unsettling when you learn that someone working so closely with our children and in our communities can possess such predatory tendencies,” said John Morales, FBI El Paso Special Agent in Charge. “The FBI special agents in the Alpine Resident Agency, along with our Homeland Security Investigations, Texas Department of Public Safety, and Marfa Police Department make it a top priority to protect children from victimization by working to investigate predators involved with the production, distribution and possession of child sexual abuse material and ensure they are held accountable for their heinous actions. FBI will continue to dedicate our resources to identify these individuals and bring them to justice.”

The FBI, Texas Department of Public Safety and Marfa Police Department investigated the case.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Amy Greenbaum and Kevin Cayton prosecuted the case.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims. For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.justice.gov/psc.

Source: DOJ Release