Child Pornography Lands Texas National Guardsman 10 Years in Federal Prison
By Jose G. Landa, Copyright 2026 Eagle Pass Business Journal, Inc.
A Texas National Guardsman has been sentenced to 10 years in federal prison after pleading guilty to possessing child pornography, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Western District of Texas.
Estin Cole West, 25, was sentenced in federal court in Del Rio, U.S. Attorney Justin R. Simmons announced Thursday, September 3, 2026.
According to federal court documents, investigators determined that West operated a Google account identified in November 2023 as having saved 81 videos and images of suspected child sexual abuse material while he was living in Laredo.
An investigation by United States Homeland Security Investigations linked the Google account, an IP address and two associated email addresses to West.
Federal agents later learned that West was employed by the Texas National Guard and had recently been stationed at a military installation in Del Rio.
During an interview with West, investigators discovered multiple videos containing child sexual abuse material in a locked folder on his cellphone. Authorities also found the Telegram application containing additional batches of illegal material.
A subsequent forensic examination of the cellphone uncovered 512 images and 726 videos depicting child pornography, including material involving prepubescent children, according to federal prosecutors.
West was arrested on Dec. 6, 2024, and pleaded guilty on March 24, 2025.
Homeland Security Investigations investigated the case, while Assistant U.S. Attorney Nallely Duarte prosecuted it.
The prosecution was brought as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide Department of Justice initiative launched in 2006 to combat child sexual exploitation and abuse. The program coordinates federal, state and local resources to identify and prosecute individuals who exploit children through the internet and to identify and rescue victims.
The Department of Justice announced West’s 10-year federal prison sentence Thursday.
