A Mexican national has been sentenced to federal prison for possession of child pornography, as announced by U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. Apolonio Sanchez-Martinez, a 35-year-old resident of Matamoros, Tamaulipas, Mexico, received a 97-month sentence after pleading guilty on September 18, 2024.
U.S. District Judge Rolando Olvera also ordered Sanchez-Martinez to pay $160,000 in restitution to known victims and imposed a 15-year supervised release term following his imprisonment. During this period, he will face restrictions on internet access and contact with children and must register as a sex offender.
The case began on August 12, 2023, when Sanchez-Martinez attempted to enter the United States at the Brownsville Gateway Port of Entry. A secondary inspection led authorities to discover a cell phone containing 1,405 videos and 152 images of child sexual abuse material (CSAM).
“There is zero tolerance for child sex abuse material in the United States,” stated Ganjei. “The Southern District of Texas will do everything we can to not only apprehend and punish producers of such images and videos but also the consumers of such material—like the defendant here—who provide a market for the creation of CSAM.”
Sanchez-Martinez remains in custody pending transfer to a Federal Bureau of Prisons facility.
The investigation was conducted by Immigration and Customs Enforcement – Homeland Security Investigations. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano prosecuted the case under Project Safe Childhood (PSC), an initiative launched by the Department of Justice in May 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse.
