A 23-year-old Brownsville man has been sentenced to over 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to a charge of child pornography.
Gene Surf Silva, according to his federal plea agreement, admitted to a counselor he was addicted to child porn.
Silva appeared Thursday before U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera Jr., where he was sentenced to 121 months in federal prison, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Texas stated in a news release.
He will also serve 20 years on supervised release following completion of his prison term, during which time he will have to comply with numerous requirements designed to restrict his access to children and the internet. Silva was further ordered to pay $15,000 in restitution to five known victims and will also be ordered to register as a sex offender.
Silva pleaded guilty to the charge on March 24.
In September 2018, Brownsville police learned of Silva’s child pornography addiction after he admitted it during a counseling session, according to authorities. According to court documents, Silva told the counselor he had already acted on his impulses by victimizing a child. Testimony before a grand jury on Sept. 26, 2018 concurred the same.
On Oct. 4, 2018, Brownsville police were able to obtain a search warrant of Silva’s home where an Apple Mini MacBook was seized as evidence. According to the document, a forensic examination of the computer revealed several images and videos that contained child pornography. The photos depicted “child pornography of prepubescent minors, toddlers and infants.”
Authorities believe Silva’s offense involved more than 300 but less than 600 images.
Silva has been and will remain in custody pending transfer to a U.S. Bureau of Prisons facility to be determined in the near future.
Homeland Security Investigations’ Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Task Force conducted the investigation.
