San Angelo Man Sentenced to Federal Prison for Possession of Lewd Images of Young Children

SAN ANGELO, TX -- A San Angelo man will spend the next ten years in federal prison after pleading guilty to one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography.

Dave Cardenas, 38, was booked into the Tom Green County jail on June 6, 2018.  He was originally charged with 25 counts of possession of child pornography.

 On Oct. 17, 2018, Cardenas was indicted on federal child pornography charges.  

As we reported earlier, Cardenas was arrested at Dillard’s Department Store at the Sunset Mall by Tom Green County Sheriff’s Office investigators.

Witnesses said he was handcuffed in public and escorted out of the store.

Dave Cardenas, as he is listed on the Tom Green County Jail records, was arrested and charged with 25 counts of possession of child pornography. Each count carries a $20,000 bond and his cumulative bond is set at $500,000.

According to the arrest affidavit, Dave Cardenas was discovered via an investigative scan using the system set up by the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.

The system showed Cardenas downloading images from tagged servers, alerting Sheriff’s Office detectives. The investigation led the investigators to the 1400 block of Tempe Post Dr.

Cardenas waived his Miranda Rights and admitted to investigators that he “viewed, possessed, and downloaded images and video files” of minor children—kids younger than 18 years old.

The affidavit notes that Cardenas was active in an online chat room where child pornography was traded with others. Cardenas stored the images and videos on Dropbox using his cellphone, the affidavit states. The latest timestamp on some of the images was in February of this year, according to the affidavit.

According to court documents, federal prosecutors dropped all the charges except one count of possession of prepubescent child pornography.  

Federal District Judge Sam Cummings sentenced Cardenas to 121 months, or ten years and one month, in federal prison.  

Judge Cummings recommended Cardenas be placed in the Federal Correctional Institute in Seagoville, TX which is the federal prison for sex offenders.  

When he released, Cardenas will be on probation for ten years.  

Conditions of his federal probation include no contact with persons under the age of 18, he shall not possess any sexually oriented materials, he shall not possess or have access to a computer or internet connected device without permission of the court.  Cardenas will also have to register as a sex offender for life.  

Cardenas was sentenced on May 31.  He filed an appeal of his conviction to the U.S. Court of Appeals Fifth Circuit in New Orleans on the same day.