A Brownsville man is going to federal prison for 15 years. He got caught with child porn at an international bridge.
Jose Jaime Baeza Jr., 33, tried to walk across the Brownsville and Matamoros bridge. This happened on January 17, 2024. A young girl was with him. Baeza said she was his sister. But he did not have the right papers to prove it.
Border officers ran a check on his name. They found out he was already a registered sex offender. That means he has to report where he lives. It is because of a past sex crime. Officers pulled him aside for a closer look.
Officers searched Baeza's two cell phones. On one phone, they found a video. It showed an 8 year old child in a sex act.
Agents dug deeper into both phones. They found about 2,177 photos and 487 videos. All of them showed children being abused. That kind of material has a name: child sexual abuse material, or CSAM. It is a crime to have it, make it, or share it.
Baeza pleaded guilty on August 5, 2025.
A federal judge sentenced him this month. Judge Rolando Olvera gave Baeza 180 months in prison. That comes out to 15 years. When Baeza gets out one day, the government will still watch him. It will watch him for the rest of his life. That part of the sentence is called supervised release.
The judge also told Baeza to pay $30,000. That money goes to the victims in the case. Baeza must register as a sex offender. He cannot use the internet without strict limits. He cannot be around children either.
Homeland Security Investigations worked the case. Customs and Border Protection helped too. Assistant U.S. Attorney Ana C. Cano handled the case for the Southern District of Texas.
