March 9, 2021
A Bessemer man has been sentenced to more than 15 years in federal prison after he was found in position of more than 1,300 child porn images and videos.
Michael Lawrence Garcia-Torres, 29, was sentenced to 188 months in prison followed by a lifetime of supervised released, according to a joint announcement by Northern District of Alabama U.S. Attorney Prim F. Escalona and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Katrina W. Berger.
U.S. District Court Judge Annemarie C. Axon handed down the sentence Tuesday. Garcia-Torres pleaded guilty in September to one-count of transportation of child pornography and one-count of possession of child pornography. The conviction will require him to register as a sex offender.
According to the plea agreement, Dropbox reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) that images and videos of child pornography were uploaded between Sept. 21, 2017 and Feb. 15, 2018, to an account belonging to Garcia-Torres. As a result, a federal search warrant was obtained for his Dropbox account which revealed 405 images and 19 videos of child pornography. Federal agents also obtained a search warrant for his residence and found Garcia-Torres in possession of 1,295 images and 85 videos of child pornography on his electronic devices.
U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, along with the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency and the Bessemer Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorney R. Leann White prosecuted the case.
“Today’s sentence is the result of the continued dedication by our prosecutors and law enforcement partners to protect the victims of child exploitation,” Escalona said. “I encourage anyone who may have information about possible child sexual exploitation, including posts on social media, to report it to the NCMEC at CyberTipline.org or by calling 1-800-THE-LOST.”
“Child exploitative material is a major threat to our community and something we must all work to eradicate,” Berger said. “Every time these images are viewed or shared it continues to victimize and steal the innocence of the subject.’’
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