A Houston man has been sentenced on Apr. 27 to 27 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to coercion and enticement of a minor as well as receipt of child pornography, according to Acting U.S. Attorney John G.E. Marck.
Victor Zuniga admitted guilt on Jan. 15 and received concurrent sentences of 324 months for coercion and enticement, and 240 months for receipt of child pornography, totaling a term of 324 months. Judge Andrew S. Hanen heard evidence that Zuniga spent over a year attempting to arrange an in-person meeting involving the sexual abuse of a toddler.
Following his release from prison, Zuniga will be subject to lifetime supervised release with strict internet access restrictions. The investigation began after four videos from the Australian Centre to Counter Child Exploitation were identified in December 2023. Authorities determined that between January 28, 2022, and November 2, 2023, Zuniga exchanged messages about engaging in sex acts with minors and received numerous videos and images depicting child sexual abuse material.
A forensic review uncovered a screen recording lasting over forty minutes showing minor children being sexually abused. Zuniga remains in custody awaiting transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The FBI’s Houston office led the investigation into this case. Assistant U.S. Attorneys Lauren Valenti and Kimberly Leo are prosecuting the matter as part of Project Safe Childhood—a nationwide Department of Justice initiative started in May 2006 focused on combating child exploitation crimes by coordinating federal, state, and local resources.
The U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Texas has included notable figures such as Alamdar Hamdani and Ryan Patrick among its former leaders according to the official history page. The office maintains locations across Houston, Galveston, Corpus Christi, Laredo, McAllen and Brownsville as described on the official website, is part of the Department of Justice under the Attorney General according to its website, employs more than two hundred attorneys covering forty-three counties with over nine million residents as detailed online, focuses on prosecuting federal crimes along with handling civil cases for the government according to its official site, and had Alamdar Hamdani serve as leader from 2022 through early-2025 as noted by its history page.
