South Texas Man Caught Smuggling Migrants—Then Found Guilty of Possessing Child Abuse Images—
The DOJ found a South Texas guilty of human smuggling and CSAM possession. (Credit: AFP)A 43-year-old Lyford, Texas man initially arrested for his role in a human smuggling operation has been found guilty of possessing more than 100 images of child sexual assault material (CSAM).
Federal law enforcement agents stumbled upon the illegal visual content as they were investigating Jose Rodriguez Jr.’s phone for smuggling-related information, per Southern District of Texas U.S. Attorney Nicholas J. Ganjei. The defendant has been in custody since August 2024.
Following a one-day trial on Tuesday, it only took the jury assigned to the case 15 minutes to find Rodriguez Jr. guilty of possessing CSAM.
