Jury Finds San Antonio Man Guilty of Offering to Sell Five Year Old for Sexual Purposes

John E. Murphy, Acting U.S. Attorney announced that in San Antonio this morning, a federal jury returned a guilty verdict against 40-year-old Sean Michael Block on one count of offering to sell a child knowing that as a consequence of the sale, the child would be subject to sexually explicit conduct and one count of distribution of child pornography. As a result of the guilty verdicts, Block faces a minimum of 30 years to life in federal prison.

Deliberating under three hours beginning yesterday and concluding this morning, the jury found that in August of last year, Block and his co-defendant, 25-year-old Jennifer Louis Richards arranged for the sale of her five-year-old daughter knowing that doing so would result in the five-year-old being portrayed in a visual depiction engaging in sexually explicit conduct. In exchange for the sale of her child, Richards would receive an apartment and a used car. The jury also found that in connection with the scheme to sell Richards’ child, Block used their computers to distribute child pornography.

On April 22, 2009, Richards pleaded guilty to one count of selling a child, knowing that as a consequence of the sale, the child would be subject to sexually explicit conduct. As a result of her guilty plea, Richards faces a minimum of 20 years to life in federal prison and a maximum $250,0000 fine when she is sentenced at 11:00am on June 23, 2009, before United States District Judge Harry Lee Hudspeth.

This case was investigated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation together with the San Antonio Police Department. Assistant United States Attorneys Tracy Braun and Sarah Wannarka are prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.