A Dallas man will spend 188 months in federal prison for one count of transporting and shipping child pornography, according to a press release by the office of U.S. Attorney of the Northern District of Texas.
31-year-old Rafael Almeida Zapata was sentenced Friday morning by U.S. District Judge Sidney A. Fitzwater.
Zapata pleaded guilty to the charges in August of last year, after a search warrant served in July of 2015 unveiled a child pornography video downloaded on an IP address linked to Zapata.
Officers showed Zapata still images of the video and Zapata recognized them, also admitting to possession of more than 600 images of child pornography. Some of the images depicted masochistic and sadistic content including children.
The FBI and Dallas Police Department worked together to investigate the case and Assistant U.S. Attorney Camille Sparks prosecuted.
This case is part of a larger initiative led by the U.S. Attorney's Offices and the criminal division's Child Exploitation and Obscenity section called Project Safe Childhood. This initiative combines federal, state and local efforts and resources to locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals and organizations sexually explointing children. It also serves to identify and rescue victims.
