A Weslaco resident was indicted Wednesday after he downloaded child sex abuse material using his laptop and a peer-to-peer software called eDonkey.
Jose Arturo Barrera-Torres was arrested in February following an investigation led by members of the Homeland Security Investigations-led Rio Grande Valley Child Exploitation Investigation Task Force, or RGV CEITF.
The arrest occurred on Feb. 16 at around 1:30 p.m. when authorities encountered Barrera at his residence in Weslaco and asked to speak to him after identifying themselves as federal agents.
“During a consensual interview at his residence, Barrera admitted to downloading and viewing child pornography,” the complaint said. “Members of the RGV CEITF asked Barrera if they could look at his laptop and he agreed.”
The laptop contained about 30 videos depicting prepubescent children engaging in sex acts with adults.
Barrera admitted to knowing what child pornography was, that it was prohibited, and that he viewed and downloaded the material, according to the complaint.
He also admitted to downloading and receiving about 80 to a 100 videos containing child sexual abuse material on his laptop utilizing eDonkey file sharing software from around July 2021 to November 2022.
Barrera is set to appear before U.S. Magistrate Judge J. Scott Hacker for his arraignment on Wednesday.
