Young adult guilty of producing child pornography

LAREDO, Texas – A 21-year-old Laredo resident has admitted he recorded sexual material and posted it on social media, announced U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani.

On June 5, 2022, Victor Antonio Puente rented a motel room in Laredo. There, he engaged in sexual activity with a 15-year-old female victim. He used his personal cell phone to record and photograph sexually explicit conduct between him and the minor and then uploaded the content via social media.

A forensic analysis of Puente’s cell phone revealed videos of him engaging in intercourse with the victim. Other videos showed him fondling her while both are naked or were of her naked body while she slept.

The minor victim’s family was able to discover Puente’s location from a third-party and contacted law enforcement.

Puente denied that the minor victim was in the room. However, they located her and took her to a local hospital for observation and treatment.

U.S. District Judge Marina Garcia Marmolejo will impose sentencing Sept. 28. At that time, Puente faces a minimum of 15 and up to 30 years in federal prison.

He has been and will remain in custody pending that hearing.

The FBI conducted the investigation with the assistance of the Laredo Police Department. Assistant U.S. Attorneys (AUSAs) Homero Ramirez and Michael P. Makens and former AUSA April Ayers-Perez prosecuted the case.

It was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood (PSC), a nationwide initiative the Department of Justice (DOJ) launched in May 2006 to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse. U.S. Attorneys' Offices and the Criminal Division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section leads PSC, which marshals federal, state and local resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who sexually exploit children and identifies and rescues victims. For more information about PSC, please visit DOJ’s PSC page. For more information about internet safety education, please visit the resources link on that page.