Former High School Teacher Sentenced For Child Pornography Offenses

Friday, December 6, 2024, 12:15 P.M. ET. 2 Minute Read, By Art Fletcher: Englebrook Independent News,

HOUSTON, TX.- On Wednesday, December 4, 2024, Emilio De Los Santos, 35, of Houston, Texas, and former Greater Houston area high school teacher, appeared in U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas and was sentenced by U.S. District Court Judge Lee H. Rosenthal to 97 months in federal prison for his previously entered guilty plea.

     On April 16, 2024, De Los Santos appeared in District Court and pleaded guilty to Distribution of Child Pornography; and Possession of Child Pornography. In handing down the sentence on Wednesday, in addition to the term of imprisonment, Judge Rosenthal sentenced De Los Santos to ten years of supervised release upon completion of his prison term. During that time, De Los Santos will be restricted from having access to children and the internet. 

     Additionally, Judge Rosenthal ordered De Los Santos to pay restitution to his identified victims depicted in digital images and video files of the child sexual abuse material.

     “As a high school teacher, De Los Santos held a special trust, charged with watching over children in his care. At the same time, he was sharing his own stash of child pornography with like-minded offenders, and that’s what makes this crime especially abhorrent,” said U.S. Attorney Alamdar S. Hamdani, “The exploitation of children has no place in our community, and my office will vigorously prosecute those involved in the distribution and possession of child pornography to the fullest extent of the law, in particular a teacher like De Los Santos.

According To The U.S. Attorney’s Office

     According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office, De Los Santos first came to the attention of law enforcement after he shared multiple child pornography files in various subgroup chatrooms on the Keybase application. After identifying De Los Santos’ IP Address and residence, investigators obtained and executed a court-authorized search warrant at De Los Santos’ home. During the search, investigators seized multiple electronic devices.

     A subsequent forensic examination of the devices uncovered 853 digital images and 380 video files of child pornography. The images and videos included the sexual abuse of infants and toddlers by adults, sadistic and masochistic conduct involving children under the age of twelve, and bestiality.

     At the time of his arrest, De Los Santos was employed as a high school teacher in the Greater Houston, Texas, area. He will remain in custody, where he has been since his initial arrest, and will be transferred to the U.S. Bureau of Prison to begin serving his sentence.