In Waco today, 27-year-old Christopher Almaguer and his wife, 27-year-old Sarah Rashelle Almaguer, of Killeen were each sentenced to 60 years in federal prison for sexually assaulting children and producing child pornography, announced U.S. Attorney John F. Bash, U.S. Secret Service Special Agent in Charge William Noonan, Dallas Field Office, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton and Killeen Police Chief Charles F. Kimble.

In addition to the prison terms, United States District Judge Alan D Albright ordered each defendant to pay $10,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Fund and be placed on supervised release for the remainder of their lives after completing their respective prison terms.

On October 30, 2018, the defendants pleaded guilty to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of production of child pornography.  By pleading guilty, the Almaguers admitted that in December 2017 they uploaded sexually explicit videos of themselves sexually assaulting children as young as eight months old.  According to court records investigators compiled a list of approximately 25 potential minor child victims, ranging in age from infants to fourteen years of age, from the Central Texas area.

“To me this is the most significant case we’ve prosecuted since I became U.S. Attorney,” stated U.S. Attorney Bash.  “The Almaguers were serial child abusers.  They abused 25 children that we know about—children from the neighborhood, children from church, children they babysat.  The youngest victim was an infant.  And the nature of the abuse was unimaginable.  They also made videos of the children’s torture and shared them.  These are two of the most wicked criminals in Texas history.”

“The sentencing in this child exploitation case emphasizes the commitment of the Secret Service to remove predators from our communities,” said William Noonan, Special Agent in Charge of the U.S. Secret Service Dallas Field Office.  “The Secret Service will continue to work closely with our network of law enforcement partners to bring those who commit crimes against children to justice.”

This morning, Judge Albright also sentenced Christopher Almaguer’s brother, 25-year-old Paul Perez, Jr. of Killeen, to 20 years in federal prison followed by a lifetime of supervised release.  Judge Albright also ordered Perez to pay $10,000 to the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Fund.  On September 25, 2018, Perez pleaded guilty to two counts of receipt of child pornography.  Perez admitted to receiving images and videos from the Almaguers which depicted the sexual abuse of children.

“My office does all it can to protect Texans, and I am proud of the difficult work that my Child Exploitation Unit and the U.S. Department of Justice undertakes in order to keep our children safe from dangerous predators,” Attorney General Paxton said. “The detestable people who perpetuate such horrific crimes against children must be held accountable for their actions.”   

The Almaguers and Perez have remained in custody since their arrests by investigators with the Texas Office of Attorney General, Child Exploitation Unit, and special agents with the U.S. Secret Service in February and March 2018, respectively.   

This case was investigated by the Texas Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Investigations Division, Child Exploitation Unit; the U.S. Secret Service; Killeen Police Department; and, the Temple Police Department.  This investigation was initiated in February 2018 when Facebook.com provided a Cybertip to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC) reporting a user was uploading suspected images and videos depicting child pornography.  Without the indispensable assistance of Facebook and NCMEC, this case would not have been brought to the attention of law enforcement.  Assistant U.S. Attorney Gregory S. Gloff prosecuted this case on behalf of the Government.

This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice.  Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and the Criminal Division’s Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood marshals federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.  For more information about Project Safe Childhood, please visit www.projectsafechildhood.gov.

United States Attorney John F. Bash, Secret Service Special Agent in Charge Paul Duran, and Texas State Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that 26-year-old Christopher Almaguer and his wife, 27-year-old Sarah Rashelle Almaguer, of Killeen pled guilty today in Waco, Texas, to one count of sexual exploitation of children and one count of production of child pornography. The Almaguers each face a mandatory minimum term of 15 years up to 30 years in federal prison on each count.

Appearing before United States Magistrate Judge Jeffrey C. Manske, the Almaguers admitted that in December 2017 they uploaded sexually explicit videos of themselves sexually assaulting children as young as eight months old. According to court records investigators compiled a list of approximately 25 potential minor child victims, ranging in age from infants to fourteen years of age, from the Central Texas area.

The Almaguers have remained in custody since their arrests by investigators with the Texas Office of Attorney General, Child Exploitation Unit, and special agents with the United States Secret Service in February 2018. Sentencing has been scheduled before United States District Judge Alan D. Albright for January 29, 2019.

This case was investigated by the Texas Office of the Attorney General, Criminal Investigations Division, Child Exploitation Unit, the United States Secret Service and the Killeen Police Department. Assistant United States Attorney Gregory S. Gloff is prosecuting this case on behalf of the Government.