SAN ANTONIO – A San Antonio man was sentenced Thursday to 160 months in prison for the receipt of child sexual abuse material.
According to court documents, Dustin Kotara, 42, participated in a messaging group dedicated to child abuse and exploitation. Through the phone app, Kotara sent child sexual abuse material to an undercover agent. In addition to his 13-year prison sentence, Kotara received 25 years of supervised release and was ordered to pay a total of $45,000 in restitution to nine child victims.
“Individuals who traffic child pornography further victimize those children by enabling the production of child sexual abuse material,” said U.S. Attorney Jaime Esparza of the Western District of Texas. “This results in the direct abuse of children. Our office will continue to identify and prosecute those who prey on the most vulnerable members of our society.”
“This is a horrible crime, and our agents and law enforcement partners are working to prevent these types of crimes every single day,” said Special Agent in Charge Oliver E. Rich Jr. of the FBI San Antonio Division. “The FBI will remain vigilant in our efforts to rescue children from those who seek to exploit or prey upon them.”
The FBI investigated the case.
Assistant U.S. Attorney Tracy Thompson prosecuted the case.
This case was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the Department of Justice. Led by U.S. Attorneys’ Offices and CEOS, 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.justice.gov/psc.
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