San Antonio man sentenced to 40 years in prison for child pornography charges

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - A San Antonio man was sentenced to 40 years in prison for child pornography charges.

According to court documents, on Nov. 11, 2018, Francisco Tristan III, 24, used a social media platform to start conversations with a minor in another state.

Tristan than coerced the minor to send him photos and videos of explicit conduct. 

When he was confronted by law enforcement, Tristan admitted he asked the minor to produce and send images and videos, court documents say. He also admitted to having other child pornography images on his phone. 

"The defendant was a child predator who inflicted significant damage on his victims, which is reflected in his sentence," said U.S. Attorney Ashley C. Hoff. "These types of crimes leave a wake of destruction and brokenness for both the child victims and their families. This office is committed to ensuring that this defendant and others like him are removed from society and further damaging others." 

On July 20, 2021, Tristan pleaded guilty to one count of production of child pornography and one count of possession of child pornography. He has been in federal custody since his arrest on July 19, 2019.

"Those who harm children in this way may hide behind a computer or smartphone and use the internet to commit these crimes, but that does not mean that they are anonymous and can use those tools to produce child sexual abuse material," said FBI San Antonio Division Special Agent in Charge Christopher Combs. "Anytime a person uses the internet to entice a minor to produce child pornography, the FBI will use all its resources to identify and prosecute those offenders." 

The FBI investigated this case.
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